THE REGIONS OF AUSTRIA: VIENNA

Oh Vienna! Voted the world's best liveable city for years. Forget Sissi, Mozart and the Viennese Waltz, because Vienna is young, hip and wine crazy. And the only capital with its own vineyards. Vienna of pleasure, then, when you're there. And waltz with the wine in your glass.
Text: Marjolein Schuman / Image Robert Herbst, Peter Rigaud, Weingut Mayer

Vienna is the only metropolis in the world where wine is grown on such a large scale within the city limits. This takes place on both banks of the Danube in suburbs such as Neustift, Nussdorf, Jedlersdorf, Döbling and Grinzing: former villages that still have a recognisable village centre and vast vineyards. Take the tram to go there from the city centre and walk for hours among the vines and over the hills. And feast on wine and food. These days, you can do that at all sorts of hip wine festivals with the sounds of DJs and jazz in the background. But perhaps even more fun is dining at one of the many cosy taverns. Especially on the Nussberg and Kahlenberg you will find many of these Hot which are also very popular with the Wiener themselves. Did you know that the Heurige tradition in Vienna has been added to UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage in 2019?

Seize the day!

So the green belt surrounding the city is not there for tourism, but high-quality wines are produced there. The Vienna wine region has 575 hectares and the main grape varieties are grüner veltliner, riesling, chardonnay and weissburgunder. Burgunder, by the way, is the German word for the pinot grape. Favourable conditions for pinot varieties can be found, among others, in vineyards on the Bisamberg north of the Danube. They are grown here and mostly picked by hand by winegrowers from Strebersdorf, Stammersdorf and Jedlersdorf.

More Viennese wine tips? Check Austrianwine.com

You can continue reading this article in WINELIFE edition 87.

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