Austria

Without doubt Austria’s history of wine production has been troubled by multiple wars, phylloxera and then the great ‘antifreeze’ scandal in 1985, which nearly bought the industry to the brink of ruin. Hundreds of thousands of hectolitres of wine were destroyed; established Merchants and Producers filed for bankruptcy (including those not directly involved); 95% of exports fell overnight and 325 charges were pressed with many guilty parties receiving jail sentences (and tragically one offender committing suicide). It is important to note though, that nobody actually died as a direct result of consuming contaminated wine, but the reputation and image of the industry was in tatters. Austria recovered from the scandal by creating the strictest wine law in the world. The banderol (whether paper label or screwcap) that we see on every bottle depict the red and white stripes of the national flag to serve as a guarantee that the wine has met federal quality controls, that the bottles are unable to be tampered with and traceability is in place.  Rest assured, with so much at stake, winemakers strive to produce the highest quality they possibly can and this consistency is the making of their modern day reputation.