Weinviertel
Where the "Pfefferl" Grows
Austrian wine enthusiasts know the Weinviertel. But nowadays the largest Austrian wine growing region is slowly gaining also international recognition. With a vineyard area of 13,356 hectares, the success of Weinviertel is down to Grüner Veltliner and the regionally typical Weinviertel DAC and Weinviertel DAC Reserve wines.
Vineyard area | 13,356 ha |
|---|---|
Principal grape variety | Grüner Veltliner |
Leading viticultural towns | Hohenwarth, Röschitz, Retz, Falkenstein, Poysdorf, Zistersdorf, Mannersdorf, Wolkersdorf |
- © AWMB / Anna Stöcher
The vast Weinviertel stretches from the Danube in the south to the Czech border in the north, and from the Manhartsberg in the west and the border of Slovakia in the east. Yet Weinviertel is not just about Grüner Veltliner, and there are a wealth of other grape varieties. The region can be divided up into three sub-regions, based on their geological aspects and climatic conditions. A highlight of the western part of Weinviertel is the area around the historic wine-trading town of Retz, with is labyrinth of underground wine cellars. The dry microclimate favours red wine production, for example in the Mailberg Valley, with its deep basin-formed vineyards, or in Haugsdorf. A second point for white wine lovers in the western region is the primary rock soils of Röschitz, where Grüner Veltliner and Riesling grow with pure mineral characters.
The north eastern part of Weinviertel, encompassing the important wine town of Poysdorf, is the realm of sparkling wine. Here Welschriesling and Grüner Veltliner, grown predominantly on loess soils, provide the perfect base wine for Austria's best known Sekt and sparkling wines. So great are the products, so picturesque is the landscape, with its undulating hills and far stretching 'Kellergassen', with traditional wine cellars on the outskirts of the villages. It is here in these deep and long tunnels, excavated out of the loess soils, that the wines can mature in the most natural surroundings and optimal conditions. Limestone rocks mark the landscape from the towns of Staatz and Falkenstein towards the northern border of Weinviertel with the region of Moravia in the Czech Republic. Further south east, along the edge of the Marchfeld around the village of Mannersdorf an der March, the effects of the warm Pannonian climate are felt, which in combination with the Morava river (the Austrian name is 'March', referring to the river that flows into the Danube), offer optimal growing conditions for Riesling, the Pinot varieties, as well as the aromatic Traminer, from dry to luscious dessert wines.