News 2021

2021-05-11  –  Traditionally, wine holds a position of high importance in the Austrian hospitality industry. In 2019, more than half of all wine bought in the domestic market was sold through restaurants, bars, inns, wine taverns (Heurigen and Buschenschanken) and at wine festivals. Due to the tough measures implemented to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, this sales channel has almost completely collapsed. As the hospitality industry is a key part of Austrian culture, and also a key partner of the Austrian wine industry, the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (Austrian Wine) has started an extensive campaign to support this sector once the lockdown has been lifted. Read more

2021-05-07  –  Over the past few weeks, the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (Austrian Wine) has increased the sales of Austrian wine in the USA and UK thanks to its biggest retail campaign there in years. More than 150 wine retailers advertised their wares with the slogan “It‘s Austrian Wine Time” and enjoyed a significant boost in sales. The best advertising concepts were awarded by Austrian Wine. Read more

2021-04-15  –  On 12 April, despite the lockdown, the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (Austrian Wine) brought 170 wine experts in the United Kingdom together with 50 Austrian winemakers. The “Austrian Tasting – The Stay-at-home Edition” gave experts the chance to taste dozens of wines in the comfort of their own home, while also talking to the winemakers online. The event marked the première of the 2020 vintage in the UK. Read more

2021-04-08  –  The new year seems to be following in the same tracks as 2020, which is, at least, positive news for Austria’s excellent wines. Again this year, they are reaping one success after another around the world. Read more

2021-03-18  –  Against all expectations, Austria’s wine exports increased again in 2020: volume rose to 67.4 million litres (+6.3%) while revenue reached a new high of 187.3 million euros (+2.4%). Alongside the main export market of Germany, the other key markets of Switzerland and the Netherlands also showed upward trends. While the USA and Asia declined, the monopoly markets of Scandinavia and Canada showed particularly strong growth. Read more

2021-03-08  –  Nearly a year after the first coronavirus lockdown, the 2020 wine sales figures for Austria’s domestic market are now available. The on-trade was particularly hard hit, as was to be expected. The hospitality industry’s purchases of Austrian wine through wholesalers dropped by a third. Austrian wine did see increases in consumption at home (+17% in volume, +18% in value) and purchases from multiple grocers (+16% in volume, +17% in value), where it also achieved a record share of revenue (75%). However, these increases were not enough to recoup the loss of sales from the on-trade. Read more

2021-02-22  –  2020 will be remembered as a growing season of opposites, in which rain followed sun and cold followed warmth. Combined with the specific features of the regions, this called for a great deal of intuition and patience from winegrowers. And they have been rewarded – we can expect some invigoratingly fresh whites, finely balanced reds and some sweet rarities. At 2.4 million hectoliters, the harvest volume was just above the average for the past five years. Read more

2021-01-19  –  Austria’s wine industry faced unprecedented challenges in 2020. In its just released annual report, the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (AWMB) gives an insight into how it tackled the challenges of the pandemic. To support winemakers as much as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic, the AWMB made changes to its entire 2020 plan at short notice: domestic and international sales channels were heavily promoted, events were moved online, and even a world-first event was hosted in Moscow at the end of November. Read more