After the weather proved to be particularly capricious during 2024, including late frosts, hailstorms and heavy rain, the year ended on a conciliatory note with a very beautiful late summer and autumn. Winemakers managed to bring in the majority of the main harvest in favourable conditions. Although harvest volumes were low, the wines they produced are very pleasing. In general, we can expect well-ripened, balanced white wines that display fine fruit, body and moderate acidity, clearly reflecting the typical varietal characteristics. The deep-coloured, concentrated red wines are expected to mature into an outstanding vintage that is likely to be one of the very best of the last few decades.
The vintage 2024 promises well-ripened, balanced white wines and concentrated red wines that are expected to mature into an outstanding vintage.
Weather conditions in 2024
In contrast to most previous years, sufficient rain fell during the relatively warm peak period of winter 2024. Spring followed, living up to its name with glorious weather in early April, marked by cloudless skies and high temperatures. This caused the vines to bud extremely early, which always brings with it a certain risk. This year was no exception with the dreaded late frosts striking in the second half of April, leading to a lower harvest volume.
However, the frosts varied greatly from one region to the next. While the frosts only struck the lower vineyards in most regions, they also damaged premium vineyards in the Kamptal and in certain parts of the Wachau and the Thermenregion. The necessary rain set in in all regions towards the end of May and beginning of June. Due to early budding, this precipitation coincided with the equally early flowering of the vines in most wine-growing regions. This led to coulure, which also caused a reduction in yields later on.
From the second half of June, high temperatures meant that the ripening process advanced rapidly. In Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) and Burgenland, these temperatures lasted almost the entire summer, up to the beginning of September. Some regions had virtually no rainfall. Unfortunately, the exception to this were localised storms including heavy hail, which struck the wine-growing villages east of Lake Neusiedl, several municipalities in Steiermark (Styria) and the north-western part of the Weinviertel. The final blow came in the form of a massive hailstorm that hit the Nussberg in Wien (Vienna) at the end of August, just before the harvest began. After September got off to an oppressively hot start, eastern Austria saw a dramatic change in the weather in the middle of the month. Heavy rainstorms lasted as long as four days in some places, bringing an unprecedented amount of rain and catastrophic flooding. This primarily affected the Niederösterreich wine-growing regions north of the Danube and the wine-growing enclaves of Oberösterreich (Upper Austria). The regions south of the Danube and northern Burgenland suffered significantly less. Because of the warm summer weather, ripening was fortunately well advanced by this stage, meaning that many winegrowers managed to bring in most of their grapes before being hit by the heavy rain. However, even the grapes harvested after the rain were in perfect condition, with a high level of sugar ripeness. Many winegrowers harvested healthy but relatively small, loosely clustered grapes with thick skins and a low juice content. Combined with the adverse weather conditions mentioned above, such as late frosts, coulure and, in some places, extreme dryness in the summer, this resulted in a significantly reduced harvest volume, which is considerably lower than the average of recent years.
Overall – The 2024 vintage was a roller-coaster ride for Austrian winemakers with late frosts, hail storms and torrential rain sometimes testing them to the limit. Harvest volumes suffered as a result, yet the wines they produced are very pleasing. The white wines are well-balanced and approachable, with attractive fruit, body and moderate acidity. The deep-coloured, concentrated red wines are expected to mature into an outstanding vintage that is likely to be one of the very best of the last few decades.
Full report can be found at https://www.austrianwine.com/the-2024-vintage
Sources: Austrian Wine / Robert Herbst
