Award-winning wines from Austria

Over the last decade, Austria has supplied some of the most exciting wines at the Decanter World Wine Awards. But even by its own high standards, 2026 was special, with two Best in Show winners, eight Platinum medals and 15 Golds – including two Top Value Golds.

‘We found ourselves spoilt for choice,’ says Master Sommelier and Austrian Panel Chair for the competition, Stefan Neumann MS. ‘It was an extraordinary lineup of wines showcasing purity, precision, and a real sense of place.’

Your chance to try

Austria is known for its small, family-run and often organic estates, and this year’s winners came from all over the country. Many different wine styles picked up top awards, highlighting the great diversity to be found in Austrian winemaking.

The great news is that you can see for yourself what the excitement is all about at the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter on 6-7 November 2026, where Austrian Wine will exhibit a wide range of the country’s wines.

Distinctive style

Key to Austria’s success is that it lies at unique climatic crossroads. Milder, damper conditions to the west meet with a hot, dry, continental climate to the east, while cool air presses down from the north and warm air pushes up from the south. This combination of continental heat and temperate coolness gives the country amazing versatility.

Austria permits 14 red varieties and 28 whites for its appellation wines, along with a growing number of disease-resistant PiWi varieties that are popular with low-intervention growers.

But as well as stylistic variety, Austria’s climatic crossroads also gives the country’s wines a distinctive overall style, combining fruit ripeness with a definite underlying brightness; concentrated but refreshing, complex but light-footed.

These are wines that are fine-boned, moreish, and perfect for modern cuisine. As Neumann says, ‘Why not come along to the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter in London and see for yourself?’

Medal-winners to try from this year’s DWWA:

Domäne Roland Chan, Wösendorf Alte Reben Smaragd Weissburgunder 2023, Wachau – Best in Show, 97 points

Birgit Eichinger, Ried Lamm 1ÖTW Grüner Veltliner 2024, Kamptal – Best in Show, 97 points

Angerhof Tschida, Schilfwein Muskat Ottonel 2022, Burgenland – Platinum, 97 points

Estherházy, St Georgen Blaufränkisch 2023, Burgenland – Platinum, 97 points

Learn more about Austrian Wine

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