Austrian wine industry focuses on organic viticulture

We don't see enough Austrian wines in Australia, but the wine industry is booming with a focus on organic farming. 

Austrian organic vineyards have this year exceeded 10,000 hectares for the first time. 

The area under vine certified as organic has risen to 10,432 hectares, the equivalent of 15,000 football pitches or 24% of the total area under vine. 

This makes Austria one of the global front-runners in organic viticulture. More than 1 in 10 organic vineyards are also cultivated using biodynamic methods. Furthermore, 25% of Austria’s vineyards are certified by Sustainable Austria.

The report  The World of Organic Agriculture 2024 shows Austria’s share of organically cultivated vineyards was already 21.5% in 2022, putting it in first place among the major wine-producing countries, even outstripping France (20.7%) and Italy (18.1%). 

“Around the world, Austrian wine enjoys a reputation for being produced in an especially environmentally conscious manner, and with good reason, as the numbers show,” says Chris Yorke, CEO of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board. 

“This is not only good for the environment, but also good for the winegrowers themselves because in many markets, certification of environmentally conscious production is an important selling point, particularly in Scandinavia, Canada and the USA."