Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/807387
72 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } APRIL/MAY 2017 { wine classification } OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS, a growing number of both regions and countries in Europe are focusing on identifying and classifying their vineyards à la Burgundy. Barolo and Germany are immersed in this process, and you can now add Austria to that list. At the moment, the vineyard classification movement in Austria is being driven by grower associations in the Kamptal, Kremstal, Traisental, Wagram and Sudsteiermark wine-growing regions. This process of identifying top vineyards certainly validates Austria's wine history, but it will take many years before all of Austria's wine regions become involved and even longer for everyone to agree on the "grand cru" vineyards within the country. In the meantime, there is a relatively new regional/grape variety system that has been developed by the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture to identify "wines which clearly represent the character of a region." DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus) certification began in 2001 and now includes nine different regions that are linked with specific grapes. The inspiration behind DAC was to move beyond the historic Qualitätswein and Pradikätwein system that classified wines on a "Germanic" must weight system. DAC also represents a conscious movement towards a regional rather than a varietal focus. Austria Now THE DAC CLASSIFICATON SYSTEM REPRESENTS A CONSCIOUS MOVEMENT TOWARD REGIONAL, RATHER THAN VARIETAL, FOCUS by Bob Bath, MS In one instance of DAC classification, Grüner Veltliner has been approved as a DAC wine for Weinviertel, provided it is made in a style that the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture describes as "aromatic, spicy and peppery, with no oak or botrytis notes." PHOTO: FABER, COURTESY OF THE AUSTRIAN WINE MARKETING BOARD PHOTO: PVO/ROBERT HERBST, COURTESY OF AUSTRIAN WINE MARKETING BOARD Kremstal is one of the regions behind the push for Austria's DAC classification system.