Expert's Choice: 18 wines to toast the revival of German and Austrian fizz

The Germans are world champions in consumption of sparkling wine (or Sekt in German), even though the level has fallen in recent years – down to around 4.8 bottles (or 36 glasses) per person aged 16 and over in 2024.

Ten years earlier, that figure was 6.1 bottles. Consumers are drinking better, however; the quality of German Sekt has improved enormously and the best are now on par with their international peers.

The trend has been similar in neighbouring Austria, even though the reputation of its sparklers has so far scarcely spread beyond the country’s borders.

The focus in this selection is solely on the top end of the quality spectrum – featuring German and Austrian Sekt wines, from specific growing regions, that have undergone a second fermentation in bottle and prolonged lees ageing.

The Sekt revival

Caroline and Sylvain — Caroline Diel and Sylvain Taurisson-Diel of Schlossgut Diel (Image credit: Schlossgut Diel / Hendrik Haase)

Sparkling wine has a special tradition in Germany. In the well-known houses of Champagne, German employees were favoured for roles in bookkeeping, sales and administration, but some also worked their way into production – and subsequently set up their own businesses.

Among the top examples of houses with German-born founders are Bollinger and Krug. Others returned to their homeland and began producing Sekt in Germany using the so-called Champagne or traditional method.

However, in 1902, Emperor Wilhelm II imposed a tax on Sekt to finance the Imperial German fleet, pushing wineries to cut costs and replace the traditional method with the cheaper and faster tank fermentation.

Pioneers such as Volker Raumland and Mathieu Kauffmann played an instrumental role in reviving quality Sekt-making in Germany.

Today, many producers have followed their lead in using Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for their traditional-method sparkling wines.

Some of the others specialise in single-vineyard sparkling wines made from Riesling, the national grape, which is treasured for its acidity yet never loses its fruitiness, even after prolonged lees ageing.

In Austria, Grüner Veltliner plays a greater role than Riesling. On both sides of the border, origin and the length of lees ageing are also key quality indicators.

In 2015, Austria introduced a three-tier quality system for Sekt with protected designation of origin. The top-tier Grosse Reserve must come from a single wine-growing municipality and the wine must mature on the lees for at least 36 months.

In Germany, beyond the Sekt bA (‘Sekt from specified growing regions’) system, another classification was introduced by the private organisation Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP) in 2020.

It distinguishes between VDP.Sekt and VDP.Sekt.Prestige, with minimum lees-ageing periods of 15 months and 36 months respectively.