DAC stands for Districtus Austriae Controllatus. It literally means protected Austrian declaration of origin. The DAC is a designation for regionally typical Austrian quality wines, where the region itself, rather than the variety, is more significant. There are currently 13 DAC-designated regions acknowledged by the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Weinviertel started off run of DAC-regions in 2003 with its regionally typical Grüner Veltliner. It has been followed by Mittelburgenland DAC (Blaufränkisch), Traisental DAC (Grüner Veltliner and Riesling), Kremstal DAC (Grüner Veltliner and Riesling), Kamptal DAC (Grüner Veltliner and Riesling), Leithaberg DAC (white and red), as well as Eisenberg DAC (Blaufränkisch), Neusiedlersee DAC (Zweigelt) and Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC, Rosalia DAC (Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt) as well as Vulkanland Steiermark DAC, Südsteiermark DAC and Weststeiermark DAC (Welschriesling, Pinot Blanc, Morillon, Grauburgunder, Riesling, Gelber Muskateller, Sauvignon Blanc, Traminer as well as cuvées from them, Blauer Wildbacher (as Schilcher) only in Weststeiermark).