SMALL is beautiful. That best describes Austrian wine when put into an international perspective. There are no run-of-the-mill wines, but rather rare specialties.

So special that a Riesling from the Wachau has become the first Austrian wine to be awarded 100 points by the Wine Advocate, the most influential wine publication in the world, as announced in the May 2014 online edition. The 1995 Riesling Vinothek from Nikolaihof Winery, which was bottled in 2012 after being aged for 17 years in large wooden barrels, achieved the highest possible score in top wine critic Robert Parker’s internationally renowned rating system.

So what makes Austrian wines so special? A prime reason is the tradition of winemaking — the grapevines have been cultivated in the same viticultural regions for thousands of years. Here, vines are synonymous with the landscape, the culture and daily life.

The Austrian vintners and producers understand how important it is to combine traditional viticulture with modern vinification processes.

“The motto is, quality without compromise,” says Erwin Steinschaden, owner of Weingut Steinschaden, a family-style winery in Langenlois, Austria’s largest wine-producing town.

The greatness of Austrian wine lies in the diversity of its wine culture, from lively, light-bodied examples to monumental, opulent white wines, as well as fruity to full-bodied red wines with long cellaring potential. The Eiswein (ice wine) is certainly Austria’s calling card, while the wide variety of elegant sweet wines are among the world’s best.

The country’s geographical position contributes to the uniqueness of its wines. Even though it is at the same latitude as Burgundy, the temperature differences can be more dramatic. The hot summer days and cool nights create crisp, aromatic wines with full body and a refined character.

Some of Austria’s wine regions are among the most beautiful in the world. These include the Wachau and the Danube’s lovely tributary valleys; Steiermark (Styria), home to lush, bucolic hillsides; the vast, peaceful paradise of Lake Neusiedlersee and its shores; and Vienna, the world’s only major wine-growing capital.

The diversity of Austrian wines is enhanced by the different types of soils, such as the rocky Danube terraces, the massive layers of loess in Lower Austria, the calcareous soils in Burgenland and southern Styria, and the volcanic basalt derivates found in the Kamptal and in southeastern Styria.

The small wine country has quite an assortment of grapes, with more than 30 different varieties permitted for the production of quality wines. With such a long and eventful history of viticulture, the list is a colorful mixture of old indigenous varieties, fairly recent cross-breedings and classic international varieties. The latter make up only a small part of the total.

Austria has incredible terroirs for Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Muskateller and Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) as well as other international favorites like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. But the truly unique treasures are the indigenous varieties, with Grüner Veltliner, a mid-ripening variety, as the flagship.

There are also the hidden jewels, such as the rare white varieties Zierfandler, Rotgipfler and Weischriesling, as well as the deliciously seductive reds, like Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch, Sankt Laurent and Blauer Wildbacher.

Although the volume of wine produced in Austria is barely enough to fulfill the demands of the domestic market, the share of wine exported continues to grow. Recently published statistics reported a record in export sales in 2013, with total export volume of 45.7 million liters at 137 million euros. That represents an increase in both volume and value of about 4 percent over 2012.

The main export markets are Germany, Switzerland, the US and the Netherlands, but persistent export initiatives in emerging markets like China and Japan are now also bearing fruit.

“In addition to these key markets, the emerging ones in Asia are of special interest to us,” said Willi Klinger, managing director of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, at the recent VieVinum 2014, a biennial international wine event held in Vienna in mid-June.

“With more and more vintners being eager to export, it is important for us to find fine wine niches in the quality segment in many countries throughout the world rather than serve just a few markets,” Klinger said.

In Austria, there are very few big wineries. In fact, this is a country of mainly small-scale family wineries — more than 9,000 of them — and in many it has long been common for grandparents, parents and children to work together under the same roof.

This has helped to ensure that much skill and passion for winemaking is passed down from generation to generation. Moreover, it has underscored the important roles not only of family but also of women in Austrian winemaking.

Austrians are true lovers of nature, which is treated with utmost respect in the country. So it is no surprise that they are the world’s leader in organic farming — 16 percent of all farmland and 10 percent of all vineyards are organically run in Austria. Moreover, GMO (genetically modified organism) use is completely forbidden in local farming.

Austrian wines are some of the most food-friendly in the world. With Grüner Veltliner as the showcase variety, the range of wines produced here go perfectly with hearty Viennese dishes as well as Austrian regional recipes. Even better, they fit brilliantly with a vast array of food styles from around the world — everything from continental European to Mediterranean to Asian, and from ethnic to fusion.

At the previous International Congress of Chinese Cuisine & Wine (ICCCW) in Beijing and Singapore, Grüner Veltliner was revealed as some of the best pairing wines for Chinese and other Asian cuisines.

“Grüner Veltliner is a vivacious aperitif, a perfect match with tempura, dim sum, pakora and sushi,” Ch’ng Poh Tiong, founder of ICCCW, said earlier.

Winery SKOFF Original

“Wine is life, our life is wine,” says Walter Skoff, the owner.

This well reflects the family tradition that tightly connects its generations and that involves a strong devotion to viticulture. The devotion is passed on from father to son and makes their wines special.

Walter and Joachim Skoff are the fourth and fifth generations of the family to grow wine on the slopes of southern Styria. The duo seems a perfect combination: Walter’s 31 years of wine experience and Joachim’s fresh ideas, gathered during his work in New Zealand, Chile and South Africa.

“But we have the same goal — to express the taste of the Styrian terroir in each of our wines,” says Walter.

The cellar is the place where Walter and Joachim use their experience to bring individuality to their wines. They put special emphasis on unfolding the individual character of their wines and on expressing the vineyard specific flavor. To them, details are essential.

Walter explains the processing as this:

After selectively handpicking, the grapes are transported to the wine estate immediately to get them cooled. The gentle processing takes place at 10 degrees Celsius in an oxygen-free environment. The time of maceration lasts between four and 24 hours. The exact time of pressing is evaluated by tasting the juice. After sedimentation, the juice is taken to fermentation, which takes place under cooled conditions for expressing a maximum of flavors in the wine.

“Winemaking is really an art,” says Walter. “What you need is much more than just experience.”

Poysdorf — where the ‘Pfefferl’ grows

Austrian wine enthusiasts know the Weinviertel. But nowadays the largest Austrian wine-growing region is slowly gaining international recognition. With a vineyard area of 13,356 hectares, the success of Weinviertel is down to Grüner Veltliner and the regionally typical Weinviertel DAC and Weinviertel DAC Reserve wines.

One of the leading viticultural towns is Poysdorf, situated at the same latitude as Champagne in France. The winemakers in this northeastern part of the Weinviertel focus especially on spicy Veltliners, fresh Welschrieslings and weighty Burgundy wines.

In Poysdorf, there are 45 wine businesses run on a professional basis, making and selling excellent wines. Thirty of them are represented in the Wine Market, a complex where people can taste, learn about and buy the wines.

They open their cellars to the public once a year between Easter and All Saint’s Day.

Winery Fautschek-Hofinger

Weingut Fautschek-Hofinger is a masterwork of labor and love; Fautschek and Hofinger are the family names of the wife and husband. The family-owned winery, with about 20 hectares of vineyards, lies in the picturesque wine village of Retz/Weinviertel.

Based on the tradition and knowhow of the well-known winery Fautschek, the young couple Katrin and Florian have started to establish their own philosophy of vinification with the harvest in 2013. The particular strength of the winery lies in its variations of Grüner Veltliner, which is light, fruity.

“We are trying every means to make good wines because they stand for the family — and the commitment between us,” say Katrin, the wife.

Winery Hautzinger

Through four generations, wine lovers in Austria and abroad have linked the name Hautzinger, near Lake Neusiedl in Tadten, with consistent quality production.

The combination of established tradition and youthful dynamism gives this winery its special charm. In the top vineyards in Gols and Tadten, the family cultivates fresh white wines and powerful red wines.

“Respect for the grape, balance with nature and careful processing of the grapes — these are the leading principles for producing excellent wines,” says the owner, Günther Hautzinger. “The consistent quality control and a perfect selection of grapes guarantee top results.”

All the varietals are powerful wines, marked by a distinct character: full-bodied but easy to drink and styled by the individual soils they grow on.

Hautzinger takes the philosophy of Oscar Wilde: “I’m a man of simple tastes. I’m always satisfied with the best.”

Winery Krug

The winery lies in the thermic region of Gumpoldskirchen in south of Vienna. The white wine specialties like Zierfandler and Rotgipfler are responsible for all the attention.

Gustav Krug, the owner, seems young and dynamic, but he already has the experience from over 30 harvests. In his wine production he combines the traditional with the modern.

“Wine must be fun,” he says. “The pleasure of drinking has to be in the front.”

The grapes from his best Rotgipfler grapevines are also from the oldest grounds and represent his most powerful wine.

Winery Rosenberger

The history of this winery dates back to 1812. Very typical for the development of family-owned wineries in Austria, family Rosenberger started with mixed agriculture and specialized in the vinification of authentic wines during the last 10 years.

Situated in the south of Kremstal, the wine benefits from special climatic conditions, with cool, humid northern breezes from nearby Waldviertel colliding with warm, dry eastern winds from the Pannonian plain.

Grüner Veltliner and Riesling white wines, as well as Weißburgunder and expressive red wines, are typical for this historic wine-growing region on the banks of the Danube.

Around 9 hectares are cultivated by the Rosenberger family. Specially selected harvests and careful processing of the grapes guarantee wines full of finesse with a fine play of aromas — powerful and rich in nuances.

The main sorts are Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, but Chardonnay, Muskat-Ottonel, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer and even Zweigelt are expanding.

Winery Steinschaden

The winery, situated in Langenlois, the heart of the wine-growing area Kamptal, cultivates 22 hectares that focus heavily on Grüner Veltliner.

Those who have tasted the legendary Stein wines “amid the vineyards” know the Steinschaden family specializes in quality wines with distinctive character and varietal style.

“We highly value quality over quantity,” says Karin Steinschaden, one of the owners. “And this has been implemented sustainably for five generations.”

Creations and variations are best tasted at the rustic Steinschaden Heuriger on Sauberg 7, where guests always feel like a “pig in muck.”