WienWein -

VISION TAKES A VICTORY LAP

Fifteen years ago, wine from Vienna was part of the local colour – today, by stark contrast, it has become one of the great specialty items on the international wine scene. The folks to blame for this belong to a group of winegrowers known as WienWein...

WIEN/VIENNA, THE DANUBE METROPOLIS AND HER WINE

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In the ranking of The World’s 10 Greenest Cities 2020, Vienna was lauded as the ‘greenest city in the world’. No surprise there; along with the city’s magnificent parks, it is above all the vineyards that so picturesquely nestle into the hillsides at the city limits, which provide Vienna with an element of charm that is unique among world capitals.

Standing on the Nussberg for the first time, one is typically rendered speechless. The city lies at your feet: St Stephen’s Cathedral, the gigantic Ferris wheel in the Prater, the Danube River, and all around you, vines are growing. Here one can clearly feel how intimately wine is connected to the city and the region – that they are inseparable.

The green belt of the vineyards forms an arc embracing the city, from the Bisamberg in the north across the Nussberg to Grinzing & Neustift, then down to the Maurerberg in the south. With an area under vines of almost 700 hectares, Weinbaugebiet Wien – winegrowing region Vienna – is one of the smallest areas of cultivation in Austria, but by far the world’s greatest in any city of millions.

The fluid surface of the Danube interfaces with cool air from the Vienna Woods to create a special microclimate in the north of the city, in which crisp white wines thrive so beautifully. Conditions in the south – at the transition to the Thermenregion where the Pannonian influence can already be felt – are completely different and solidly-structured red wines are the order of the day. Even given their great diversity, all these wines have one element in common: the fresh, clear, typically Austrian style that is so sought after and highly prized the wide world over.