Neusiedlersee

Neusiedlersee is part of the broader Burgenland wine region. Lying on Austria’s easternmost border with Hungary, there is an other-worldly sense about this region, principally derived from the extraordinary Lake Neusiedl and the surrounding National Park.  The lake covers 300 km² but at no point is it more than 2 metres deep.  Such a large body of shallow, warm water makes the arrival of botrytis cinerea (noble rot) for the production of late harvest wines around its shores a predictable annual event, and it also moderates the effects of the heat and dust of the Central European Pannonian plain. 

Whilst the region is best known for its sweet wines, which are produced both in Rust on the western shore, and around Apetlon and Illmitz on the eastern shores, the Lietagebirge to the west and north provide slopes for the production of excellent dry white and red wines.  Many different varieties are grown, and sweet wines are made out of nearly all of them, but among them the Blaufrankisch and St. Laurent red varieties are especially successful.  

Recommended Producers:

There are many fine producers in the region, nearly all producing a wide range of wines.  For sweet wines, Velich, Lang and Kracher are renowned.  For reds, and dry whites, Umathum, Pittnauer and Feiler-Artinger are among many interesting producers.