Since then Austria's wine industry has put this unfortunate affair behind it, reinvented itself, and is responsible for some of the most exciting wines in Europe. Though it was first noticed for some of its fine sweet styles, it's Austria's dry whites that are causing much of the excitement nowadays.
Gruner veltliner has been most in the spotlight in recent years. It's the nation's flagship and most widely planted grape, covering around 30 per cent of its vineyard area. The best are full bodied and fresh, with ripe tropically tinged fruit, dill-like nuances and often a characteristic white pepper note.
From being relatively unknown a little over a decade ago, high profile tastings - in which gruners beat some of the world's top wines - have made wine enthusiasts take note and have driven its popularity in countries such as Britain and the US. Though we don't see much here, the fact we now grow this underrated variety and are making some good examples, has spurred more interest in the Austrian originals.
"We have seen an increase in sales and interest around gruner veltliners," reports Scenic Cellars' Floris Heijdenrijk. "Now people are starting to get more familiar with the New Zealand gruners they are also happy to experiment with the Austrian versions."
Austria's rieslings are another of the country's highs. Warmer than its neighbour Germany, it consequently makes more powerful styles which are dry, fuller bodied and often highly concentrated. From top producers such as FX Pichler, Prager and Hirtzberger, they are some of the best in the world.
Sauvignon blanc is another of Austria's strong suits - not that our somewhat parochial sauvignon selections mean we see any here - its more restrained grassy and minerally examples give ours a run for their money in terms of quality.
Though Austria's cooler climate means it's predominantly white wine country, it also produces some credible reds. Most widely planted is the cherry fruited and spicy zweigelt, while its St Laurent is aromatic and reminiscent of pinot noir. Rare these examples may be here, but a handful of our wineries are working with the varieties, such as Judge Rock and Spade Oak with St Laurent and Herzog and Seifried (the latter of which has Austrian roots) with zweigelt.
Tricky Germanic names like zweigelt and gruner veltliner don't exactly trip off the tongue and have limited the popularity of Austrian wines. However in the US and Britain it's been overcome for gruner at least by calling it GruVee - something that to my mind Falco never was, but Austrian wines increasingly are.
TOP COMPOSITIONS
AUSTRIAN INTRODUCTION
Sepp Moser "Sepp" Gruner Veltliner Niederosterreich 2009 $22.90
An affordable introduction to the pleasures of gruner that's light and dry, with fresh apple and lemon fruit, a savoury minerally undertone and hints of honey, almond and white pepper. (From Scenic Cellars.)
CLASSIC GRUNER
Hiedler "Thal" Gruner Veltliner Kamptal 2010 $39.99
Classic peppery gruner in which notes of tangy lemon and fleshy stonefruit are overlaid with the variety's characteristic white pepper. (From Caro's.)
LOCAL ST LAURENT
Judge Rock Central Otago St Laurent 2009 $35
An attractive local example of this Austrian grape that's medium-bodied and silky textured with delicate and juicy red cherry fruit, plus notes of mineral and spice.