One of the six specific wine-growing regions in the Austrian province or generic wine-growing region of Burgenland. It was restructured in 2016 with some changes to the names and area boundaries. Apart from that, the name remained the same. Some areas of the Neusiedlersee wine-growing region were assigned to the Leithaberg wine-growing region (formerly Neusiedlersee-Hügelland). These were the municipalities of Jois and Winden, as well as some vineyards in the municipality of Neusiedl am See. The area is named after the 320 km² large and 36 kilometre long steppe lake. In the vernacular, it is usually referred to as Seewinkel because it nestles at an angle to the lake. It stretches from the north of the province along the northern and the entire eastern shore of the lake to the border with Hungary.
Climate & soils
Like all bodies of water, Lake Neusiedl has a positive effect on viticulture. The climate is characterised by Pannonian and continental influences, the large Lake Neusiedl has a climate-regulating effect and acts as a heat reservoir in autumn in conjunction with the lake mists that occur. This contributes to the formation of botrytis (noble rot) and thus to the production of noble sweet wines, which have a very long tradition in this region. The vegetation cycle is longer than average at up to 250 days a year. The predominant soil types are loess, black earth, gravel and sand.
Wine-growing communities & vineyards
Well-known wine-growing communities are Andau, Apetlon, Edelstal, Frauenkirchen, Gols (one of the largest in Austria), Halbturn, Illmitz, Kittsee, Mönchhof, Neusiedl am See (only part of the vineyards), Tadten, Pamhagen, Podersdorf, St. Andrä, Wallern and Weiden. The "Seewinkel Wine Route" begins at Neusiedl am See and runs along the Hungarian border, past the "Lange Lacke" nature reserve and back to Neusiedl. The best-known vineyards include Altenberg, Alte Satz, Bless, Edelgrund, Gabarinza, Goldberg, Hallebühl, Heideboden, Kreuzjoch, Neuberg, Reitäcker, Salzberg, Schafleiten, Siebenmahd, Spiegel, Spitzerberg, Straßenäcker, Ungerberg and Zwickeläcker.
Grape variety index
In 2022, the vineyards covered a total of 6,110 hectares of vines. Compared to 2017 with 6,675 hectares, this was a reduction of 565 hectares (8.5%). The proportion of red wine varieties is 49%, the proportion of white wine varieties 51%. The dominant variety, accounting for around a quarter of the total area, is the red wine variety Zweigelt, followed by the two varieties Grüner Veltliner and Welschriesling (which swapped places), as well as Blaufränkisch and Chardonnay.
