microclimate

The term climate refers to the sum of the influences and elements of the weather, such as temperature, sunshine hours, rainfall, amongst other factors, that occur over a longer period of time, as opposed to short term or current weather patterns. We differentiate between the macroclimate (the large climate zones), the mesoclimate (climatic influence of the individual states or regions), and the microclimate (the local climate in the single-vineyards or sites). Austria has three major climate zones, these being the continental climate, the Pannonian climate and the Mediterranean climate.