The white variety is amongst the oldest cultivated vines in Europe, and is known as the Sylvaner in Austria and Switzerland, and Silvaner in Germany. The crossing is Traminer x Österreichisch Weiß, and is often called the 'Österreicher', or Austrian.
Austria
Natural crossing of Traminer x Österreichisch Weiß
23.06 ha; 0.1% of the total area under vine
White wine grape variety
Origin
Sylvaner is one of the oldest autochthonous grape varieties in Austria. From here, the variety made its way to Germany, where it was once known as “Österreicher”.
Vineyard area
Sylvaner was still a significant variety in Austria in the mid-20th century. However, it has considerable disadvantages compared to the Grüner Veltliner, such as low resistance to winter frosts and a high susceptibility to Peronospora, oidium and botrytis. The variety’s growth also proved too weak for Lenz Moser’s high vine training system, which gained widespread use with the more-favoured Grüner Veltliner. Between 1999 and 2020, the already small area under this variety decreased further in size.
Important ampelographic features
Important ampelographic features
Leaf
pentagonal, with five lobes, lightly sinuated, undulate leaf margin
Grape cluster
small, very densely berried, cylindrical, shouldered; berries are small, round, spotted and greenish-yellow in colour
Vine growth over the course of the year
Ripening
Ripening
Significance & conditions
The variety has very little significance in Austria, though it plays a more important role in Germany. Sylvaner requires very specific conditions in the vineyard and is especially susceptible to chlorosis if the soil is too high in lime.
Area under vine in Austria
(as a proportion of the variety’s total area)
Click on the wine origin in the list for a breakdown into more specific regions of origin.
Total area in Austria:
The Leithaberg and Neusiedlersee wine-growing regions overlap by almost 160 ha (Rieds Hausberg and Neuberg), according to the Austrian Wine Law. This means that the listed area under vine in Burgenland is 160 ha less than the actual total area across all wine-growing regions in Burgenland.
Characteristics of the wine
Characteristics of the wine
Produces neutral to fruity wines. Mature wines typically display gooseberry aromas.
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 3 July 2024). Moving annual total (MAT) from July 2023 to July 2024.