Austria

After a dry winter the growing season got off to a late and slow start, not least because of cold weather in April. This is often no bad thing as it reduces the risk of spring frost. April was also quite wet and this helped to get some moisture into the soil. Warm weather in late May at last got the vines growing rapidly and although the flowering in June was later than usual, it passed without incident. From late June until the eve of the harvest in early September the summer was largely hot and dry, with the exception of heavy downpours at the beginning of August and some lighter showers at the end of that month. The growers are confident about the quality of the vintage. At 2.3 million hectolitres the crop is estimated to be just a tad down on both 2022 and the five year average.