Q&A: Michael Moosbrugger, CEO, Schloss Gobelsburg

The outgoing chair of the Österreichische Traditionsweingüter (ÖTW), Michael Moosbrugger shares his vision for the future of premium Austrian wine. 

Schloss Gobelsburg was involved in Austria's early efforts to classify vineyards through the Österreichische Traditionsweingüter. Looking back, do you believe formal vineyard classifications have genuinely increased the value and international prestige of Austrian wine?

Until the 1960s, Austrian wine was primarily sold by appellation and place of origin. With the shift from field blends to single-variety plantings between the 1970s and 1990s, however, wine in Austria came to be marketed primarily by grape variety.

It was not until the early 2000s that Austria began to re-establish an appellation system. After 25 years of development, a system has emerged that is not yet perfect, but is being refined a little further each year.

Appellation systems have both advantages and disadvantages. Their great advantage is that they provide a social and democratic system for marketing wine. The disadvantage is that, as the geographical origin becomes smaller, the number of names appearing on the market increases, creating an increasingly complex environment.

This is why the ÖTW began considering the classification of vineyard sites at a very early stage. In a complex environment with a large number of site names, a classification system can help mitigate one of the disadvantages of an appellation system.

From there, it was a logical step to promote the idea of vineyard classification. It gives producers the opportunity to join forces and create awareness that extends beyond what any individual producer could achieve alone.

For the Austrian wine industry, the advantage is that we have chosen a structure that can be easily understood and communicated internationally. It allows us to explain Austrian wine and its hierarchy in relatively simple terms.

Another advantage is that an appellation system reflects the reality of Austrian producers and their wines much better than a system based on grape varieties, which ultimately offers only a superficial approach. We are convinced that the shift towards marketing the origin of the grapes was decisive in building the reputation Austrian wine has gained over the past 30 years.

Coming back to your question, I am not sure that classification itself increases the value and prestige of a country's wines. Rather, classification reflects the value and prestige that already exist. Any increase in value and prestige can ultimately only come from the quality of what is in the glass.

I strongly believe that Austrian wine is still underrated and represents some of the best value currently available. In China, for example, our brand was the only one across our importer EMW's entire portfolio to record an increase in sales last year.



What, then, has been the greatest benefit of the classification project?

The positive impact of our work over the past 20 years is evident in several areas.

First and foremost, we have established a shared vision for the origins of Austrian wine that resonates with a broad community. The strength of any movement is directly proportional to the extent to which people share a belief in its mission.

Secondly, we have successfully engaged with the authorities, leading to the integration of our classification model into Austria's appellation system.

Thirdly, our communication tools, including maps and our classification book, are now widely regarded as industry standards and are regularly used and endorsed by sommeliers.

Fourthly, the media coverage generated by the Single Vineyard Summit over the past 13 years has been substantial, demonstrating the significant value that has been created.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we have seen most of Austria's quality regions integrated into the system, with almost 100 producers from each region actively supporting the movement.

Through this collaborative effort, we have created tangible and valuable recognition for Austrian wine, benefiting both ÖTW members and the wider Austrian wine sector.

If you had to bet today on one grape variety that could become important in Austria 20 years from now, where would you put your money?

I'm not really the sort of person who makes predictions about the future. We have seen in the past that science, in particular, can get such predictions wrong. There are, of course, always predictions that prove to be accurate, but I believe science is much better at analysing the present and the past than at predicting the future.

My focus at the moment is more on developing new grape varieties than on concentrating on the old ones, which we already know were not necessarily bred for the conditions of the future.

The crucial question is which approach will prevail in the further development of grape varieties: CRISPR or traditional crossbreeding.

The case for CRISPR is that it can preserve existing grape varieties, while traditional crossbreeding leaves us open to new possibilities. I tend to favour the traditional approach because it gives us the opportunity to discover something genuinely new.

CRISPR is more suited to those who do not want to change anything and believe that we have reached the end of evolution - that there can never be anything better than what we already know.

Ultimately, I believe in evolution, and that complexity comes from diversity and from the new. That is why, for more than ten years, we have been working on new grape varieties produced through traditional crossbreeding, some of which do not yet have names.

For us, cultural identity is important, as is the continued development of traditional grape varieties, just as the Cistercians have always done. Our aim is to preserve the identity of our region while still creating something new.

Consumers also tend to find it easier to embrace development when it builds on and refines what already exists.



Climate change is forcing decisions on a much shorter timescale: vineyard sites, varieties, ripening patterns and even the definition of typicity are changing now. What has been your management strategy at the estate?

At an estate such as Schloss Gobelsburg, we naturally tend to think in terms of the long term. But that raises the question of what the 'long term' actually means, and how far into the future we can realistically look.

We like to think in terms of centuries, of course, because we have such a long history behind us and can draw on a wealth of experience. Nevertheless, predicting the future is always difficult and usually prone to error.

Despite all the vivid examples of climate change, we must not lose sight of the fact that climate change refers to statistical averages, which have only limited relevance to the immediate reality of a winegrower.

Our day-to-day reality is one of constantly changing conditions to which we have to adapt. When it is dry, we must take measures to prevent the vineyards from suffering unduly. When there is heavy rain, we need to take the right steps to ensure that there is sufficient water available. We have to respond differently to an early vintage than to a late one.

We are rather like jazz musicians: we have to pay very close attention to our surroundings and react appropriately.

Our strategy, therefore, is to maintain the flexibility, ability, and experience to respond appropriately to the specific circumstances of each vintage.

A great help - particularly within the structures of the Austrian wine industry - is a well-designed appellation system. It makes winegrowers somewhat less dependent on grape-variety trends and, if well designed and managed, enables them to respond more effectively to future developments.