Wachau is one of Austria's most established and notable wine regions, specializing in dry wines made from Riesling and Grüner Veltliner. Located in Lower Austria along the Danube, west of Vienna and Krems an der Donau, it is one of the westernmost wine producing regions in Austria with only a few scattered plantings in Tyrol being further west. While most of Austria follows a wine classification systems based on ripeness and harvest must weight that parallels the German wine classification system, Wachau wines have a unique classification system. The three classification levels for Wachau wine include Steinfeder for wines up to 11.5% alcohol level, Federspiel for wines between 11.5–12.5% and Smaragd that must have a minimum of 12.5% alcohol level. Despite its renown, the Wachau is a small wine region that usually accounts for only around 3% of Austria's wine production.
From the Wikipedia article Wachau wine, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wachau is an appellation in Lower Austria, Austria. We track 904 of its wines in stock at 51 shops, from 25 wine houses, from € 9.50; mostly white.
- Country
- Austria
- Region
- Lower Austria
- In our wines
- Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris
- Classifications
- Trockenbeerenauslese 2 · Eiswein 1 · Beerenauslese 3 · Auslese 6 · Spätlese 1 · Kabinett 5 · Smaragd 694 · Federspiel 81 · Steinfeder 1
- Styles
- White 893 · Dessert 5 · Red 3 · Rosé 2 · Orange 1
- Prices
- from € 9.50 · median € 54.50 / 75 cl
Vintages
per year: wines in stock, prices, and the critics' scores the shops quote| Vintage | Wines | From | Median / 75 cl | Critics' score | Growing season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | – | – | – | – | hotso far +2.1 °C · 1,410 GDD · 72 % rain |
| 2025 | 110 | € 9.50 | € 30.00 | 97.6 (5 wines) | averagewet harvest +0.4 °C · 1,098 GDD · 119 % rain |
| 2024 | 118 | € 13.00 | € 42.75 | 97.0 (10 wines) | hotwetwet harvest +1.7 °C · 1,337 GDD · 137 % rain |
| 2023 | 122 | € 21.00 | € 49.88 | 95.6 (18 wines) | hot +1.1 °C · 1,299 GDD · 106 % rain |
| 2022 | 88 | € 11.90 | € 52.00 | 96.6 (10 wines) | hot +1.1 °C · 1,276 GDD · 112 % rain |
| 2021 | 80 | € 11.00 | € 55.50 | 94.5 (4 wines) | cooldry harvest −0.5 °C · 1,028 GDD · 97 % rain |
| 2020 | 41 | € 20.50 | € 52.00 | 97.0 (1 wine) | averagewetwet harvest ±0.0 °C · 997 GDD · 152 % rain |
| 2019 | 51 | € 17.50 | € 59.00 | 96.0 (5 wines) | hot +1.0 °C · 1,197 GDD · 87 % rain |
| 2018 | 46 | € 18.50 | € 55.00 | – | hot +2.2 °C · 1,436 GDD · 95 % rain |
| 2017 | 45 | € 16.03 | € 60.21 | 94.5 (2 wines) | warm +0.5 °C · 1,148 GDD · 94 % rain |
| 2016 | 35 | € 19.50 | € 60.21 | – | average +0.1 °C · 1,099 GDD · 113 % rain |
| 2015 | 20 | € 35.00 | € 65.00 | – | warm +0.5 °C · 1,194 GDD · 80 % rain |
| 2014 | 11 | € 55.00 | € 62.00 | – | averagewet harvest +0.2 °C · 1,004 GDD · 125 % rain |
| 2013 | 8 | € 34.90 | € 63.50 | 94.5 (2 wines) | average −0.3 °C · 960 GDD · 97 % rain |
| 2012 | 12 | € 26.00 | € 69.50 | – | average +0.4 °C · 1,153 GDD · 104 % rain |
| 2011 | 3 | € 105.00 | € 105.00 | – | average +0.2 °C · 1,071 GDD · 91 % rain |
| 2010 | 9 | € 50.00 | € 89.00 | – | cold −1.2 °C · 902 GDD · 127 % rain |
| 2009 | 4 | € 55.00 | € 74.50 | – | average +0.1 °C · 1,068 GDD · 123 % rain |
| 2008 | 8 | € 45.70 | € 75.50 | – | average −0.2 °C · 991 GDD · 102 % rain |
| 2007 | 7 | € 80.00 | € 137.50 | – | averagewet harvest +0.1 °C · 1,071 GDD · 105 % rain |
| 2006 | 9 | € 50.00 | € 127.50 | – | averagedry harvest +0.1 °C · 1,015 GDD · 104 % rain |
| 2005 | 7 | € 49.00 | € 150.00 | – | cool −0.5 °C · 927 GDD · 115 % rain |
| 2004 | 3 | € 185.00 | € 185.00 | – | cool −0.5 °C · 908 GDD · 81 % rain |
| 2003 | 3 | € 45.00 | € 85.00 | – | average +0.3 °C · 1,276 GDD · 74 % rain |
| 2002 | 4 | € 28.00 | € 192.00 | – | average −0.1 °C · 1,102 GDD · 114 % rain |
| 2001 | 1 | € 185.00 | € 185.00 | – | averagewet harvest −0.1 °C · 1,023 GDD · 95 % rain |
| 2000 | 7 | € 25.00 | € 99.00 | – | warm +0.8 °C · 1,147 GDD · 75 % rain |
| 1999 | 5 | € 28.00 | € 229.00 | – | average ±0.0 °C · 1,023 GDD · 101 % rain |
| 1998 | 7 | € 35.00 | € 65.00 | – | average −0.1 °C · 994 GDD · 106 % rain |
| 1997 | 3 | € 109.00 | € 169.00 | – | colddry harvest −1.4 °C · 928 GDD · 107 % rain |
| 1996 | 1 | € 209.00 | € 209.00 | – | cold −1.6 °C · 752 GDD · 123 % rain |
| 1995 | 4 | € 30.00 | € 55.00 | – | average −0.3 °C · 956 GDD · 92 % rain |
| 1994 | 2 | € 30.00 | € 90.00 | – | average ±0.0 °C · 1,159 GDD · 75 % rain |
| 1993 | – | – | – | – | average −0.3 °C · 993 GDD · 80 % rain |
| 1992 | – | – | – | – | average +0.1 °C · 1,167 GDD · 75 % rain |
| 1991 | – | – | – | – | colddry harvest −1.3 °C · 896 GDD · 86 % rain |
| 1990 | – | – | – | – | cool −0.7 °C · 945 GDD · 80 % rain |
| 1989 | – | – | – | – | cool −0.6 °C · 880 GDD · 104 % rain |
| 1988 | 2 | € 65.00 | € 102.00 | – | cool −0.5 °C · 969 GDD · 75 % rain |
| 1987 | 1 | € 65.00 | € 65.00 | – | cold −1.0 °C · 847 GDD · 101 % rain |
| 1986 | 1 | € 159.00 | € 159.00 | – | average −0.4 °C · 960 GDD · 81 % rain |
| 1985 | – | – | – | – | cold −1.0 °C · 901 GDD · 100 % rain |
| 1984 | 1 | € 99.00 | € 99.00 | – | cold −1.4 °C · 787 GDD · 91 % rain |
| 1983 | 1 | € 75.00 | € 150.00 | – | average +0.4 °C · 1,093 GDD · 71 % rain |
| 1982 | 1 | € 69.00 | € 69.00 | – | cooldry harvest −0.5 °C · 1,045 GDD · 83 % rain |
Growing season (April–October; October–April south of the equator): mean temperature against Wachau's 1991–2020 normal (hot: 1 °C or more above, warm: 0.5 °C, cool/cold below), growing degree days (warmth for the vines, base 10 °C) and rain against normal, with the harvest month (September/March) flagged when very wet or dry. Monthly data from NASA POWER (MERRA-2) at one point in the appellation. The current year is compared with the same months of a normal year (“so far”); its latest months are preliminary and revised by NASA later.
Critics' score: the average of the best 100-point score quoted for each wine of that vintage, as the shops quote them. A few quoted wines make a thin average; the number of wines is in brackets.
Hirtzberger 125 · Weingut Prager 119 · Weingut F.X. Pichler 98 · Weingut Knoll 90 · Weingut Alzinger 74 · Franz Hirtzberger 40 · FX Pichler 28 · Domäne Wachau 25 · Weingut Josef Fischer 14 · Leo Alzinger 12 · Veyder-Malberg 10 · Lahrnsteig 8 · Tegernseerhof 8 · James Brook Wine Limited 6 · Gritsch Mauritiushof 5 · Mathias Hirtzberger 5