The City of Vienna and its Wine
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We can rely on the ancient Romans. When the soldiers of the Empire were looking for a suitable location for a border fortress by the Danube River in the 1st century, their choice fell on the Celtic village Vindobona. Here, they found cultivated vineyards and hillsides, whose favorable location was immediately obvious to the occupiers from the South. Winery in today's Vienna was anything but new already back in those days: archaeological findings prove that on the Nussberg, the Kahlenberg and the Bisamberg, wine has been cultivated since 750 BC. The Romans however took their cultures vines with them and systematically extended the winerys.
From the 12th century onwards, written documents prove the existence of vineyards and record their owners – a sign of the viticulture's significance, which was blooming during the entire Medieval Age. The winery faced major setbacks during the two Turkish Occupations in 1529 and 1683. Land outside the city walls was devastated by the Ottoman army and also the Thirty-Years War left its traces.
Viennese Wine Conquers Vienna
In the early 20th century, the rapid urban growth of the city of Vienna relegated the winery to the fringes of the city, where it could finally maintain its place. Today, an area of 678 hectares is cultivated, with modern Viennese viticulture mainy focusing on the Nussberg/Kahlenberg, Bisamberg and Maurerberg regions.
In the second half of the 20th century, it seemed that viticulture would go to rack and ruin due to the overwhelming success of the "Heuriger" (wine taverns). The Viennese wine's image was too much characterized by the taverns that served the „G’spritzte“ (wine with sparking water). The high quality of Viennese wine is comparably young. Top class vines from the metropolis on the Danube River are all the more becoming the talk of the industry.
Paradoxically, they first became famous abroad, since the Viennese, for a long time, associated their wine so much with the cozy wine taverns that even top quality wines from the capital did not make it to the wine lists in restaurants. "If you want to drink Viennese wine, go to the 'Heuriger'", was an often heard advice from sommeliers to their guests.
Today, Viennese wine is about to finally conquer its own city. The range of products has become differentiated: the 'Heuriger' still remains an original flagship of the city, but wine lovers also find vines that are meanwhile counted among the country's best and are internationally sought-after, more than ever before. Wines that are characterized by their soil, which is completely different in the North of the city and in its South, and which particularly benefit from the microclimate, due to the closeness of the Danube River.
The "Wiener Gemischter Satz" (mixed composition) – A real Viennese
A specialty of Viennese winery is the "G’mischte Satz" (mixed composition): the wines consist of several varietals, which are not cut after fermentation to Cuvée, but are already grown mixed on the vineyard. This way, the fine differences in soil and the microclimates in the vineyards can be used by the respective optimal vine.
