Austrians

Austrians (the Austrian people, Österreicher) are the main population of Austria in Central Europe. On this site their traditions are Grüner Veltliner, the Tyrolean cheeses Tiroler Bergkäse and Tiroler Graukäse, the rum-based Inländerrum, Wachau apricot spirit and Tiroler Speck. Almost all of these names are protected in the EU, and three of them belong to one province, Tyrol.

Austria's main grape is Grüner Veltliner. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Austrian Wine Marketing, in 2025 it covered 32.3% of the country's 44,210 ha of vineyards; the next white grape, Welschriesling, has only 6.3%. Based on DNA markers, the VIVC catalogue names Traminer as one of its parents. The words “Weinviertel DAC” on a label mean a wine made only from Grüner Veltliner, with no more than 6 g/l of sugar.

Tyrolean cheeses are the milk of mountain and valley farms. Tiroler Bergkäse is a hard PDO cheese from the raw milk of cows fed without silage, mainly on grass and hay. A wheel weighs at least 12 kg, ripens at 12–16 °C and is smeared with salt water twice a week. Fat-cheese making spread in Tyrol in the 1840s: it let farmers store the large milk volumes of the Zillertal and carry them to Vienna. Tiroler Graukäse, “grey cheese”, is set with lactic acid instead of rennet, usually from the low-fat milk left after butter-making. Loaves of 1–4 kg wear a thin bluish-grey mould rind, and the taste is tart to sharp.

Inländerrum, “domestic rum”, was born of having no colonies. Austria-Hungary had no tropical lands, real rum was expensive, and a substitute was made from sugar beet. Today, according to the producer Stroh, it is made only from cane molasses, and since 2008 the name has been protected as an Austrian geographical indication. Stroh, founded in 1832 and now based in Klagenfurt, makes 40, 60 and 80% vol. versions; the rum goes into dough, creams and hot tea, and it is the base of Jagertee.

Wachauer Marillenbrand, the Wachau apricot spirit, is distilled only from ripe “Wachauer Marille” apricots in 21 municipalities from Mautern to Krems; the word Marille has been known here since 1509. Column stills are not allowed, only pot stills; the strength is at least 38% ABV, with no more than 4 g of sugar per litre.

Tiroler Speck is a PGI cured pork. Leg, loin, belly, shoulder or neck is rubbed with salt, juniper, black pepper and garlic, cured for 7–35 days at 2–7 °C, then cold smoking and drying alternate for 4–14 days with the air at no more than 22 °C; at least half the wood is beech or ash. As early as 23 July 1573 Tyrol fixed a price for a pound of speck. The Speckmeister decides when it is ready, and the name itself may not be translated.

Why it matters to you: “Weinviertel DAC” guarantees Grüner Veltliner in the bottle, “g.U.” on Tiroler Bergkäse means silage-free milk, and “Tiroler Speck” with the PGI logo means dry curing and beech or ash smoke in Tyrol. The 80% vol. Inländerrum is not drunk neat: it belongs in baking and tea.