Winemakers Call for Legislation

“Spritzer” Should Contain Only Domestic Wine

According to estimates, around 500 million Spritzers are consumed here each year.(Bild: www.seidl.photo)

Shortly before the national holiday, Austria’s top winegrowers are calling for a patriotic provision in the new wine law: In the future, any product labeled “Spritzer” should, by law, contain only Austrian wine. A legal opinion is already in the works. Negotiations are set to begin shortly. 

The wine industry is in a bind: Globally, the wine sector is under pressure. Rising costs, changing and declining consumer behavior, and economic uncertainty are affecting virtually all wine-producing countries, including Austria—which, however, is holding its own in international comparison.

The industry contributes approximately 1.2 billion euros annually in taxes and levies to the public coffers. Three-quarters of this goes to the federal government and social security, while 20 percent goes to the states and municipalities. Wine accounts for 7.5 percent of total agricultural production, and 20 to 25 percent of fine wines are exported.

Patriotism in a Glass
Just in time for the national holiday and in parallel with the ongoing negotiations on a new wine law, Austria’s “master winemakers” are calling for more patriotism—specifically regarding the country’s unofficial national drink, the “Gspritzten.” According to estimates by the wine industry, around 500 million Spritzers are consumed annually in this country. In some places, however, wine from abroad is also used in the mix. In the future, this will no longer be the case.

Johannes Schmuckenschlager, president of the Austrian and European winegrowers’ associations, and Herbert Oschep, head of Wein-Burgenland, are presenting the federal government with a legislative amendment on a silver platter—and stirring up a storm. The demand is simple: Wherever a drink is labeled “Spritzer” in Austria, it must be made exclusively from red-white-red wine.

“When you order a Spritzer in a wine-producing country like Austria, you naturally expect wine from Austria. We must meet this expectation,” says Schmuckenschlager. Oschep adds: “We are patriotic wine drinkers and stand 100 percent behind the demand that a Spritzer always be made with Austrian wine. EU and Brussels be damned. We owe this to our winemakers, and I’m putting my heart and soul into it. This must be enshrined in the new wine law.”

Legal Opinion Already Commissioned
The wine-loving duo has done its homework and has already commissioned a legal opinion from attorney Johannes Zink. “This will be possible. We will exhaust all legal means to safeguard this piece of Austrian cultural heritage,” the lawyer explained to the “Krone.” Aperol spritzers and similar concoctions are not expected to be affected by the amendment for the time being. Discussions with the federal government are to follow.