An underrated country gaining appreciation for superior wines made from indigenous varieties, Austria should be on the radar of anyone who loves bright, elegant wines. These food-friendly, cool-climate reds and whites are quintessentially European in style with racy acidity, moderate alcohol, and tart, fresh fruit flavors. After recovering from serious vineyard decimation during First and Second World Wars, the Austrian wine industry succumbed to an unfortunate scandal in 1985 when a small group of deceitful winemakers were discovered to have been lacing dessert wines with diethylene glycol to mimic the textural effects of botrytis. The country’s credibility as a wine region took a serious hit, and in order to rebuild trust, strict regulations for quality standards were put into place. Today, Austrian wines are prized for their near-uniform dedication to excellence, and it is now difficult to find a bad bottle.

Rather than joining in on the worldwide trend to plant international varieties, Austria has chosen to stake its reputation mainly on its native grapes. Grüner Veltliner, known for its racy acidity and vegetal and peppery aromatics, is the most important, comprising nearly a third of Austrian wines. Riesling in Austria is high in quality but not quantity, planted on less than 5% of the country’s vineyard land. Unlike their German counterparts, Austrian Rieslings are almost always dry, with higher alcohol, slightly lower acidity, and flavors that lean more toward the citrus end of the fruit spectrum. Field blends of these two grapes along with Pinot Blanc and other white varieties known as Gemischter Satz are popular for daily consumption in Vienna. Red wines include light, tart-fruited Zweigelt, juicy and spicy Blaufränkisch, and Pinot-Noir-like Saint Laurent.