I am sure that it is not without some degree of Schadenfreude that Austrians read stories about the recent scandal regarding Chinese toothpaste and its antifreeze content when Austria itself was embroiled in a terrible scandal during which it was discovered that diethylene glycol was being added to Austrian wine.

The Austrian wine industry is finally truly recovered, and the recent opening of the New York Times “paywall” has made finding out about it that much easier for the English-reading community.

The plus side of all of this is that Austrian wine is making serious gains in reputation and quality. And while tiny Austria will never be on a footing with France or Italy in terms of wine production capability, there could be a huge boon for vintners focussing on quality products while the EU money flows into the development of Austria’s wine industry.

The Apple/BMW mantra applies: one does not need a huge market share, only a reputation for quality products to earn a healthy profit and a loyal consumer base.