To determine the best vineyard sites in Vienna and thus to distinguish wines with a particularly expressive character – that is the aim of the Österreichische Traditionsweingüter’s classification of the city’s vineyards. For the consumer, this official seal will offer an aid to navigation among the world’s seemingly limitless variety of wines.

This vineyard classification recognises those sites that have reliably yielded outstanding wines over the course of many years. These are those vineyards that with their vines, soil structure, microclimate, exposure & elevation offer optimal conditions for the creation of such wines. Only wines vinified from regionally typical varieties are approved. The three categories of the vineyard classification are Klassifizierte Lage, Erste Lage, & Große Lage, although the third of these classifications, Grosse Lage, has not yet been awarded. Since 2019, all of Vienna’s winegrowers have had the opportunity to have their vineyards classified. For this, certain specified criteria must be satisfied and an observation period of three years is applied.

The winegrowers’ association Österreichische Traditionsweingüter was founded in 1992 and today comprises thirty-six member estates in the Danube region (Kamptal, Kremstal, Traisental, Wagram), twenty members in Carnuntum and six members in Wien/Vienna. The classification process is lengthy and is conducted with the utmost care. A classified vineyard must not only have special qualities in terms of soil and microclimate, but also provide evidence that regionally typical wines of the highest quality are grown there consistently over the course of many years –.