This very old variety is a crossing of Roter Veltliner x Sylvaner, and is regarded as being typically Austrian. In recent years, it has lost significance, and is mostly sold as table grapes, as a young wine, or as a simple house wine, particularly in the Thermenregion, Weinviertel and Wagram.
Origin
probably Niederösterreich, Austria
Parentage
Natural crossing of Roter Veltliner x Sylvaner
Vineyard area
237.01 ha; 0.5%
White wine grape variety
Vineyard area
This old, autochthonous grape variety is widely grown in Niederösterreich, the Weinviertel and in Wagram. The area under this variety continuously decreased between 1999 and 2020.

Important ampelographic features
Important ampelographic features
Leaf
cuneiform to pentagonal, three to five lobes, main leaf vein is red up to where is branches, slightly open petiole.
Grape cluster
large, densely berried, cylindrical, shouldered; berries are elliptic, reddish-coloured, with a neutral flavour
Ripening
Ripening
Significance & conditions
The significance of Frühroter Veltliner is decreasing. It is marketed mainly as a table grape, as an en primeur wine (still maturing in the barrel) or a table wine by the glass – especially in the Thermenregion, the Weinviertel and Wagram. The variety is not demanding in terms of soil and location.
Area under vine in Austria
(as a proportion of the variety’s total area)
Link
Source varietal specifications: Höhere Bundeslehranstalt und Bundesamt für Wein- und Obstbau (Federal College and Federal Office for Viticulture, Oenology and Fruit Growing) in Klosterneuburg, “Austria’s Qualitätswein grape varieties and their clones“ („Österreichische Qualitätsweinrebsorten und deren Klone“), 2nd, reviewed edition, September 2015
Source area under vine: Calculation by Austrian Wine based on data from BML/IACS (as at 28 June 2023). Moving annual total (MAT) from June 2022 to June 2023.