Austrian wine producers roll out new classification system for Sekt

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 02 November, 2015

After two years of discussion and research, Austria's wine producers have agreed a new quality-identification regime for Sekt.

Austrian Sekt with Protected Provenance will establish three levels of quality: Klassik, Reserve and Große Reserve.

To qualify for any of the categories, all the grapes used in the wine must have been grown in one Austrian state.

To earn a Klassik label, the Sekt must have matured on the lees for at least nine months.

Reserve status will only be granted to sparkling wines that have been produced by the traditional method, with a second fermentation occurring in the bottle. In addition, the Sekt must have spent at least 18 months maturing on the lees.

Große Reserve is limited to wines that meet a stringent set of criteria. The grapes must have been harvested and pressed in a single wine-growing community, and must bear its name - or that of a single vineyard if applicable - as a designation.

Große Reserve wines will also have to ferment and mature in the bottle for a minimum of thirty months, and cannot be released for at least three years after harvest.

The new regulatory system also includes a range of production standards appropriate to the different categories of wine and covering issues such as hand picking, yield levels, and so on.

The new regime has been established by the Austrian Sekt Commission, in collaboration with a committee of Sekt-producing wine-growers, the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, and experts from the Chambers of Industry and Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture.

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