Ep. 2788 Ep. 14: Austria and Hungary | Study Smart for your WSET Level 3

0:00Welcome to Study Smart, the weekly show for wine students who want to take their wine education to the next level. I'm your host, Jill Gordon Smith, and in this episode we're breaking down another important wine region. With exam strategies and techniques to help you reach the next level in your wine education, this is Study Smart. Hello and welcome back to Study Smart. Today we're travelling through Austria and into the Taki region of Hungary. So Austria is best known for dry, high-asset white wines, particularly those made from Bruno Velt Lina and Reesling. Taki by contrast is one of the world's great regions that put intensely sweet wines made from petrionized grapes. So although these wines are very different, they share an important cool climate advantage. The grapes retain

1:01higher acidity as they develop flavour and sugar. And it's this acidity that gives dry, Austrian wines freshness and allows the intensely sweet wines of Taki to remain balanced. So we're going to be thinking about how climate, grape variety and harvest decisions create styles ranging from dry and refreshing to intensely sweet. And as always we're going to connect the natural factors and human decisions to the style, quality and price of the wine. Now Austria's wine regions lie mainly in the east of the country, close to the borders with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia. Austria has a cool continental climate, winter's are cold, summer's are short and warm and the difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures can be significant. The growing season is long enough for aromatic varieties to develop flavour while the cool nights help preserve acidity. The Alps influence the vineyards from the west but most wine regions lie beyond the highest mountains. Warm air arriving from the east

2:04helps grapes ripen while cold, nor the lier can slow ripening and retain freshness. Rivers and lakes are also important. The Danube and its tributaries moderate temperature in Nidorostorite, further east, Lake Noizidl helps create warmer conditions in Bergenland and provides a humidity needed for noble rock. As we move across Austria remember this broad pattern, the northern and western areas of cooler and strongly associated with dry white wines, while Bergenland in the east is warmer and suitable for black grapes and sweet wines. Grunovet liener is Austria's most important great variety and the principal focus for WCT level 3. It's a late-wrapening variety that performs well in Austria's warm summer days and long autumn. It naturally retains higher acidity and can produce wines ranging from simple and refreshing to concentrated and age-worthy. At high yields, Grunovet liener gives light-bodied wines with higher acidity and fresh citrus and green fruit

3:05aromas. These wines are usually made in inner vessels at core fermentation temperatures to preserve their primary fruit. When yields are controlled and grapes come from favourable sites, the wines become more concentrated and fuller-bodied. So ripe examples can show stone fruit and the variety's characteristic white pepper note. Some premium wines may develop great a texture through leaves contact, but the emphasis remains on purity of fruit and freshness. Malalactic conversion is usually avoided so that acidity is retained. This is an important WCT link. Lower yields reduce the amount of fruit that can increase flavor concentration and quality. Steep slopes and selective hand harvesting add further costs, helping explain why premium examples command higher prices. Reasling is also important, particularly in the best sites of Niderosterite. It retains higher acidity and develops concentrated citrus and stone fruit flavors. Premium Austrian

4:05reasoning is commonly dry, medium to full-bodied and capable of aging. Welsh reasoning is not related to reasoning. It generally produces light-bodied higher-sid wines with relatively neutral flavors. Its higher acidity makes it valuable for sweet wine production in Bergenland, when noble rock can concentrate sugar and flavor while the acidity maintains balance. Austria also produces important red wines. Blarfranckisch gives deeply colored wines with higher acidity, high tannins and black fruit flavors. It is late-writening and benefits from the warmer conditions of Bergenland. Zviagilt is a crossing of Blarfranckisch and San Laurent. It ripens earlier than Blarfranckisch and generally produces deeply colored wines with soft tannins and red fruit flavors. San Laurent can also produce deeply-cullied aromatic wines with red and black fruit flavors. It requires careful site selection and performs best in the warmer areas where it can ripen reliably. Nederosterijk or Lower Austria is Austria's largest wine-producing region.

5:08It surrounds Vienna and extends north and west along the Danube. The river helps moderate temperature while variations in slope, aspect and altitude create a range of vineyard conditions. Grunnevert Lena is widely planted and reasoning is important in the best sites. The two named areas for WCT-Lebel 3 are Waukau and Winevertel. The Waukau lies along a narrow section of the Danube. Many vineyards are planted on steep, terraced slopes above the river and these slopes provide good sunlight and drainage, hoping grapes ripen in a cool climate. Cold air arriving from the north creates a large difference between daytime and night-time temperatures. Warm days promote ripening while cool nights preserve acidity and aromatic intensity. The steep terraces are difficult to mechanize, so much of the work must be done by hand. Low yields, hand harvesting and difficult vineyard conditions increase production costs. Waukau is known for premium dry Grunnevert Lena and reasoning. The wines commonly have

6:10high acidity, concentrated citrus and stone fruit flavors and medium to full-bodied. Grunnevert Lena may show white pepper while reasoning is generally more overtly floral and citrus driven. The best wines have the concentration and acidity to develop in bottle. Winevertel lies to the north and east of Vienna. The landscape is generally less steep than Waukau, allowing greater mechanization and larger scale production. Grunnevert Lena dominates here. The typical style is dry, light to medium-bodied and high acidity with citrus, green fruit and white pepper aromas. High yields and easier vineyard work can reduce production costs, so many wines offer accessible pricing. Winevertel is also associated with DAK. DAC stands for Districtors, Austria, Contralatus and identifies a wine that follows the rules for a recognized regional style or a PDO wine. The emphasis is on origin and a typical expression of the region rather than simply the ripeness of the grapes. Bergenland lies in eastern Austria along the border

7:17with Hungary. It's warmer than either Austria, because it receives warm continental air from the east, and these warmer conditions support black grapes, including Blav Frankish, Zygelt and Stannleront. The wines can achieve greater colour, tenor-rightness and concentration than would be possible in cooler parts of Austria. Lake Noisiedle is the other major influence. The shallow lake moderates temperature and creates humid autumn mornings, and these are followed by warm dry afternoons, the perfect conditions for noble rot. The tritus pierces the grape skins, allowing water to evaporate and concentrating sugar, acid and flavour. Welsh reasoning is particularly useful because its high acidity balances the resulting sweetness. Repeated selection of the tritized grapes requires skilled hand harvesting and gives very low yields, making these wines expensive. Qualifistatsvine is Austria's main category for quality wine from specified regions, and these wines must meet production and great rightness requirements.

8:18Pradikat identifies wines made from grapes that have reached higher minimum levels of rightness. These wines are commonly sweet and may involve late harvesting noble rot or naturally frozen grapes, as the grapes become more concentrated, yields fall and harvests risks and labour costs increase. DAC is different because it focuses on a region and its typical wine style. For this episode, Wine Vertel DAC is the key example, linking Bruno Beltliner to its regional origin. Now we're going to cross the border into northeastern Hungary and move to Tukai. Tukai lies in northeastern Hungary, close to the border with Slovakia. Vinyas are planted on the foothills of an extinct volcanic mountain range near the rivers Baudrog and Tidsta. The rivers create humid misty autumn mornings that encourage noble rot. Dryer sunny afternoon slow the spread of grey rot and allow betrardas grapes to shrub gradually on the vine. The best slopes provide good sunlight and air flow. These conditions help healthy grapes ripen and allow betrardas to develop successfully. Noble rot is never guaranteed,

9:23so vintage variation and harvest risk are important factors in both quality and price. The principal grape is ferment. It has higher acidity ripens late and is susceptible to noble rot. Its higher acidity is vital because it balances the very high sugar levels of Tukai sweet wines. Firmant provides structure and can develop intense apple, citrus and stone fruit flavours as the berries concentrate. Hustlevalu contributes perfume, richness and body. It can add floral and spicy aromas to the blend. Saga muscatali, also known as muscat blanca putty gong, contributes pronounced grapey and floral aromas. And together these varieties combine acidity structure richness and aromatic intensity. Tukai azoo is made using individually selected but tritized grapes known as azoo berries. The berries are harvested in several passes through the vineyard. They are then macerated with a base wine or fermenting must made from healthy grapes.

10:24Very important. This extracts sugar, acidity and flavour from the shriveled berries. The mixture is pressed and fermented, although fermentation may stop naturally because very high sugar levels make it difficult for the yeast to continue. So the fermentation can continue for a very long time. The wine is matured in oak which allows slow development and adds complexity without dominating the fruit. Tukai azoo is sweet, high in acidity and full-bodied with pronounced flavours of dried apricot, citrus peel and honey. But tritized contributes additional complexity and the higher acidity prevents the wine from tasting heavy or clawing in this strong aging potential. Repeated hand selection, very low juice shields, slow fermentation and maturation all add to the cost and this is why high quality tokai azoo can command a premium price. Tukai, ezencia, is made from the tiny amount of free run juice released by the weight of the azoo berries themselves. The juice contains extraordinarily high sugar levels so fermentation is extremely slow

11:28and produces very little alcohol. Ezencia is intensely sweet, highly concentrated and exceptionally rare. It's highest that it uses essential for balance. Extremely low yields and the time required to produce it make it one of the most expensive styles from Tokai. The modern sweet Tokai wines can be made by harvesting the tritized grapes and fermenting their juice directly rather than maserating azoo berries in a separate base wine or must. This creates a more straightforward production method while retaining concentrated fruit sweetness and refreshing acidity. Some wines are made as late picked as well. So for Austria explain how the core continental climate, the Danube slopes altitude and regional warmth affect great ripening and wine style. No grun of oatmeal and reasoning as well as Welsh reasoning, love, frankish, fire gelt and sentlerong. Distinguish wakau, wine, vertel and bergen land and no quality stats by impradicat and DAZ. For Hungary, the specification focuses on sweet wines from Tokai. Link river mist, sunny afternoons and noble

12:32rock to the production of concentrated grapes. Know the roles of ferment, haslevelu and saga muskotali and be able to explain the differences between Tokai azoo, azencia and modern sweet styles. So some key takeaways here. Austria's core continental climate supports dry, high acid aromatic wines, especially grun of oatmeal and reasoning. Wakau steep terraces produce concentrated premium wines. Well, wine, vertel is strongly associated with fresh peppery grun of oatmeal. Warm a bergen land supports black grapes. Lake Noisidil helps create conditions for noble rock. Tokai's rivers, autumn mist and sunny afternoons favor betritus, while ferment provides the acidity needed to balance the intense sweetness. Tokai azoo uses selected betritus berries, massurated in a base wine or must from healthy grapes. Ascencia is made from the free run of concentrated

13:32azoo berries. Thanks for joining me for this session of study smart. Now we're going to look at a study technique to make your studying more effective. So our study smart session is going to talk about study groups. Are they a secret weapon or are they a total waste of time? Do study groups actually work? Because if you've ever joined one, you probably know they can go one of two ways. Either everyone leaves feeling clearer, sharper and more confident, or two hours disappear, someone brings snacks, you'll complain about the exam and absolutely nothing sticks. So what does the science say? The answer is study groups can work brilliantly, but only if they're structured properly. And that's because learning is social. There was a wonderful educational psychologist, Lev Begottsky, and he argued that we often learn best through interaction with others. So explaining ideas, questioning each other and hearing different perspectives helps to build deeper

14:32understanding. And neuroscience supports this too. So one of the most powerful ways to strengthen memory is retrieval practice. So pulling that information out of your brain, not just reading it again. And a good study group naturally creates this. So if someone asks why does Mosul reason stay so high in acidity, you have to retrieve the answer. Cool climate, slow ripening, low temperatures preserving acid, maybe steep slopes improving sunlight exposure. And that effort strengthens the memory. And here's another big one, teaching other people. When you explain something, your brain has to organize knowledge clearly, and that's called elaboration. And we've talked about that before. So you aren't just remembering facts, you're connecting them. So imagine you explain left bank board O to your group. You might say, have an A7, you're on dominates because the gravel soils on the left side drain well and store heat. The maritime climate is moderated by the Atlantic. The disease pressure could be an issue because of rainfall. And explaining that

15:34helps you learn just as much as the listener. And then there's accountability. If you know your group expects you to explain champagne production tomorrow night, you're much more likely to prepare. And that external commitment helps motivation. But here's the warning, bad study groups can be terrible. Passive listening does very little. So if you just watch one really confidence student explain everything, that's not great. And turning the session into a stress sharing therapy, also not ideal. And comparing yourself with others can often damage your confidence. So what works? So let's try this, the 45 minutes study smart group. The first 10 minutes, rapid retrieval. So quick fire questions, no notes. Examples might be list three factors affecting the tridest development. Name two causes of high alcohol in wine. So that fast recall section will help wake the brain up. Then the next 15 minutes, every person explains one topic. So keep it short, clear, no lectures. So examples might be somebody explains German predicate levels or someone

16:39explains why shabbly tastes the way it does. Or the key differences between carver and champagne. And these can be set out well before you meet for your study group. Then an exam challenge. So using real command verbs describe explain this compare. An example might be explain two reasons why sore turn is expensive to produce. So everybody sits and writes their answer. And then you compare them. You compare and talk about what you struggled with, what needs revision, what you'll prepare for next time. And that's where the real improvement happens. So the study groups work, yes, but not because you sit together. It's because you actively retrieve, explain, question and challenge each other. And that's where the learning happens. So see you next week for another region and another study smart tip. Thank you for listening to study smart. If you're ready to take your wine education to the next level, why not visit the Italian wine academy at ItalianMineAcademy.org. Don't forget to tune in

17:43next week when we'll be exploring another important wine region. Until then, Chin Chin with the Italian Wine People.