Austrian Sekt Day
October 22nd
What is Austrian Sekt? Sekt refers to sparkling wine, so Austrian Sekt is a sparkling wine from one of the 40 varieties of grapes that are used for “Qualitätswein” in Austria.
Delicious and bubbly, perfect to sip and dream of Vienna!
Austrian Sekt…a love story.
According to the Austrian Wine Website
In 1841, on a boat trip on the Rhine, Robert Alwin Schlumberger met young Sophie Birchner of Vienna. Schulmberger was the cellarmaster for Ruinart Père et Fils. When he asked for Sophie’s hand, her parents refused to let her move to France, so he moved to her city of Vienna and founded his own sparkling wine company.
The origin of the “muselet?”
It is thought that the famous “muselet,” the wire cage over a cork in sparkling wine, was invented here in 1851 by Joseph Winkelbauer and Johann Winkler. They created a “clip made of drawn wire.” (This has not yet been proven to be the 1st, but…)
The making of Austrian Sekt
Sekt can be made using any sparkling production method. If made using the traditional method, it must age at least 9 months on the lees (the yeast). If made via Charmat Method (in tank), it must age at least 6 months on the lees.
Other than those requirements, you have tons of variety available! It can be made from 40 different varieties of grapes. It is primarily made from Riesling, but other popular grapes include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris.
You will also find Sekt made from the Austrian varieties of Grüner Veltliner and Welschrieling and a score of other grapes, including Zweigelt, St. Laurent, Blaufränkisch, and many others.
Sekt’s sweetness levels range from completely dry to sweet. There are 5 quality levels, each adding production requirements and amplifying what you get in your glass.
Sekt in Niederösterreich (or Lower Austria)
Lower Austria, or Niederösterreich, is located in the northest corner of Austria. The Danube River travels through the region and it holds within it the city of Vienna.
The Weinviertel is the northernmost part of Niederösterreich and is best known for Austrian Sekt. Grüner Veltliner is the most well-known grape in the region, and Sekt is made with this variety here. The town of Poysdof within the area has the perfect microclimate for growing grapes for Sekt.
Finding an Austrian Sekt!
We researched a few wineries that you might look to for Austria Sekt and sparkling wines. You can find these wines on Wine.com.
If you order them through the link on our site (there is a link in the column to the right), we will receive a small commission. (So if you choose to do that, we say Thank You.)
Weingut Bründlmayer
Weingut Bründlmayer is located in Kamptal in the Waldviertel near Langenlois
Led by Willi Bründlmayer, with his wife Edwige, they create wines with Winemaker Thomas Klinger and Master of Wine Adreas Wickoff and strive to tell the story of the soil, climate and place through their wines.
They have vineyard sites in Ried Hieligenstein and Ried Spiegel, among others.
Learn more about them here https://www.bruendlmayer.at/en/
At Wine.com you can find their Bründlmayer Sekt Brut, a non-vintage sparkling wine from Kamptal for $55.98.
Szigeti
This winery was one of a group of new sparkling wine producers in Austria in the 1990s. Brothers Peter and Norbert Szigeti took over the family business in 1991. They purchase fruit from growers in Burgenland and Niederösterreich to produce their sparkling wines. These wines are made in the traditional method.
Szigeti is located in the town of Gols in Burgenland in the eastern part of Austria.
Learn more at https://www.szigeti.at/en
At Wine.com you can find their Szigeti Gruner Veltliner Brut for $22.99 and their Szigeti Klimt Blanc de Blanc 2018 for $24.99 (This has beautiful Klimt artwork on the label!)
Schloss Gobelsburg
History here runs deep. At Schloss Gobelsburg in Kamptal Austria, there have been discoveries of settlements from the eolithich, bronze and iron ages as well as the Roman Empire and early Medieval times.
The Castle (Schloss) Gobelsburg was first mentioned in text in 1074 and changed hands multiple times before the Zwettl Cistercian Monastery acquired it and its vineyards in 1740. This added to the vineyards in Heiligenstein and Gaisberg that the monks had been tending since 1171!
In 1996 the Scholoss Gobelsburg estate and vineyards were acquired by Michael Moosbrugger and Willi Bründlmayer.
The castle is surrounded by vineyards, each with different soils and microclimates. Organic winegrowing began with the monks who naturally tended the vines, eschewing chemicals and herbicides.
Learn more about them here https://www.gobelsburg.at/en/
You will find their Schloss Gobelsburg Brut Rose Sparkling Wine available at Wine.com for $39.98.
Heidi Schrock & Sohne
While they don’t actually make a Sekt, they do make a Pétillant Naturel sparkling wine, “Pét-Nat” for short. I know, we are celebrating Sekt! But while I was researching I found their site and fell in love!
Heidi Schröck and her sons Georg and Johannes run a small company. While their ancestors have been making wine for 300 years, Heidi began in 1983, and her sons joined her a few vintages ago.
The family and vineyards lie in Rust on Lake Neusiedl.
Want to get to know them better? They have a page on their site, where they answer some “Straight from the Heart” questions.
https://www.heidischroeckundsoehne.com/en/questions-answers
At Wine.com you will find their 2021 Heidi Schrock & Sohne Pinot Blanc Pet Nat for $34.98.
So…as we venture into the holiday season, and bubbles are at the forefront of everyone’s mind, why not explore a little Austrian Sekt? Do a little delicious exploration of these bubbles!
For More on Austrian Wines
For More on Sparkling Wines
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine and WSET 3 Certified. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
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