Austria's Best Buys: Souvenirs To Look Out For

Austria is a treasure trove of exclusive gifts and souvenirs. From delectable treats to elegant homeware, the country's offerings go beyond gastronomy. Here are some must-buy souvenirs in Austria:

- Mozart Balls: These tiny chocolates with pistachio marzipan and nougat sealed in dark chocolate are a famous Austrian sweet. The original Mozart sweet is only available in Salzburg, crafted by the Fürst family since 1890.

- Snow Globes: Did you know that snow globes were invented in Austria? Traditional Austrian snow globes depict famous attractions or winter scenes in Vienna. You can find them in souvenir shops, but the Snow Globe Museum offers a unique experience.

- Austrian Porcelain and Glass: Porcelain has been an Austrian tradition since 1718, often given as wedding gifts. Austrian glasses hold similar importance. You can find a variety of figurines, statues, vases, and utensils in both materials.

- Zotter Chocolate: This brand from Styria offers a unique touch of cheese enclosed in dark chocolate. It's available in select supermarkets and their flagship store in Riegersburg, Styria.

- Manner Wafers: This is a must-try sweet in Austria, loved by locals. You can find these wafers in any supermarket, and they make for a great souvenir.

- Austrian Wine: Austria produces renowned wines, with Gruner Veltliner being a famous white wine grape that thrives in its tropical regions. You can find a variety of wines and grape clones in specialty wine shops and wineries.

- Swarovski Crystals: Swarovski is a well-known brand offering timeless classics like watches, bracelets, crystals, rings, pendants, and brooches. Their showrooms in Innsbruck and Wattens provide a premium shopping experience.

Austrian Porcelain

Gmundner Keramik, based in Upper Austria, and Augarten, located in Vienna, are two of the most popular manufacturers. Augarten's smallest vase costs €68, while a full tea set can cost over €1,000.

Antique porcelain from Austria can be found for sale online, including plates, bowls, vases, and trinket boxes. These items often feature intricate hand-painted designs and floral motifs, with some dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

If you're looking for more affordable options, Vienna plates with watercolour-style designs of landmarks can be purchased for around €35-€40.

Mozart Balls

The Mozartkugel recipe involves creating a ball of pistachio marzipan, covering it in a layer of nougat, and then coating it in dark chocolate. The stick used to dip the ball into the chocolate is removed, and the resulting hole is filled with extra chocolate. The end product is a delicious blend of sweet and nutty flavours.

While Fürst's company continues to sell Mozartkugeln, they are only available in Salzburg. However, similar products are now produced by numerous other confectioners, including Mirabell in Grödig near Salzburg, and Victor Schmidt and Heindl in Vienna. These mass-produced Mozart Balls are widely available in supermarkets and souvenir shops across Austria and can be purchased in various packaging and gift boxes.

Snow Globes

You can find snow globes in many souvenir shops across the country, but for the full experience, head to the Snow Globe Museum in Vienna. Here, you can see how the globes are made before buying one from the shop. Prices start at around 7 EUR for a small 25 mm globe, with medium (45 mm) globes costing around 10 EUR and the largest ones (120 mm) costing about 25 EUR. The museum and shop are open from Mondays to Thursdays, from 9 am to 3 pm.

When buying a snow globe, carefully examine it for any cracks or leaks, and check that the snowflakes inside move freely without any air bubbles.

Austrian Wine

Austria has a rich history of winemaking, with archaeological evidence of grape growing in Traisental 4,000 years ago. In the 19th century, Austrian wine became a high-volume, industrialised business, with much of it being sold in bulk to Germany. However, in the 1980s, a scandal revealed that some wine brokers had been adulterating their wines with diethylene glycol, a chemical commonly found in antifreeze. This destroyed the market for Austrian wine and compelled the country to tackle low standards of bulk wine production. In response, Austria shifted its focus to producing quality wines, with an emphasis on organic and biodynamic viticultural practices.

Today, Austrian wines are renowned for their exceptional quality. The country boasts diverse wine-growing landscapes, from the vineyards of Wachau along the Danube to the plains of Burgenland and the hillside vineyards of Styria. The variety of soils and climates in these regions results in a range of fresh, dry white wines, sweeter white wines, and generous, masterful red wines.

Some of the best producers of Austrian wine include Weingut Bründlmayer, Weingut F.X. Pichler, Weingut Franz Hirtzberger, Weingut Nikolaihof, Weingut Knoll, Weingut Tement, and Weingut Sattlerhof. When buying Austrian wine, look out for these producers and others with a DAC classification, which signifies a wine typical of its region.

• Riesling from Weingut Bründlmayer or FX Pichler
• Grüner Veltliner from Weingut Bründlmayer, Weingut Franz Hirtzberger, or Nikolaihof
• Chardonnay from Weingut Bründlmayer
• Zweigelt from Weingut Bründlmayer

Zotter Chocolate

Zotter is a chocolate manufacturer in Styria, Austria, known for its inventive creations. The company produces around 500 different flavours of chocolate, including hand-scooped chocolates with fillings, single-origin Labooko chocolates, and chocolate bars.

Zotter is unique in that it produces everything in-house, from the cocoa bean to the finished chocolate bar. The company uses only organic and fair-traded ingredients and is one of the most sustainable chocolate businesses in Austria.

Zotter offers a wide range of flavours, including ButterCaramel, Currant'N'Chili, and an assortment of chocolate bars with alcohol. Their chocolates are available for purchase online, in their flagship store in Styria, and in selected supermarkets in Austria, such as Spar.

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