Austria’s Donauland set for name change

Austria’s Donauland region is set to have its name changed to Wagram in the next few weeks.

The proposed change, which will undergo a vote in the Austrian Parliament before its summer recess, is part of an effort by Donauland winemakers to give a more focused ‘Austrian’ identity to the Donauland. Most of the producers in the region, 50km northwest of Vienna, are based in and around the town of Wagram.

The region’s producers say that the Donauland name, which refers to land along the Danube river (‘Donau’ means Danube), is too generic and can represent any country through which the Danube flows, including Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

‘Wagram is a much more suitable name, especially with regard to wine exports,’ said Josef Pleil, President of the Austrian Viniculture Association. ‘There are now many new EU member countries that can have a “Donauland”.’

Pleil is highly optimistic that the Parliament will pass the proposed name change with a required majority vote of more than 50%.

Donauland currently has over 2,700ha of vineyard of which 2,350ha are around Wagram. Most of the Donauland´s remaining 350 hectares are situated around Klosterneuburg, just outside Vienna.

Written by Darrel Joseph