Niederoesterreich

Pronounced NEED-ur-oh-stir-eyk. The largest of Austria's four major wine-growing regions, the name translates to "Lower Austria" and it encompasses the subregions of Weinviertel, Kamptal, Kremstal, Wachau, Traisenthal, Wagram, Thermenregion, and Carnuntum. This area represents roughly 60% of all Austria's vineyard plantings and produces a majority of white wines. The name originates from this region's position downriver along the Danube as it flows west to east. The snow-capped areas to the west are known as Upper Austria. There are three different major sub-climates that affect the wines of Lower Austria. First and most well-known are the five Danube valley classical sub-regions affected by both the cool weather from the Alps and the Pannonian climate from the East, and further regulated by the effects of the river Danube: Wachau, Kremstal, Traisenthal, Kamptal, and Wagram. Second is the large fertile plain of the Weinviertal (Wine Garden), producing the bulk of Grüner Veltliner for the easy drinking market. Third are the warmer regions that stretch towards the south and east and have a climate more influenced by the Pannonian effects from Hungary: Thermenregion and Carnuntum. Certainly a unified region from a political standpoint, when it comes to wine, there is much variety to be had in the Niederoesterreich.