Below is what you experienced on our previous tour. Dates and locations may be subject to change in the upcoming tour.

    Austria - INTRODUCTION

    SMALL BUT INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL: THAT IS AUSTRIA!

    DISCOVER AUSTRIA’S PHENOMENAL WINES: GRÜNER VELTLINER, BLAUFRÄNKISCH, ZWEIGELT, INTERNATIONAL VARIETIES SUCH AS PINOT-NOIR, SAUVIGNON-BLANC, CHARDONNAY, RIESLING, AND THE BRILLIANT INDIGINEOUS GRAPE VARIETIES.

    The Austrian tour

    12 day immersion: Sunday, May 28 - Thursday, June 08, 2023

     


    During this wine tour we discover an often overlooked European wine region and one of the world’s best kept secrets of ultra-premium wine production. We start the tour in Imperial Vienna and will discover that Vienna is not only the breathtakingly beautiful capital of Austria, but also a wine region that is famous for its “Heurige” and “Gemischter Satz” (field blend). The visit to the Lower Austria wine region leads us to an in-depth exploration of Austria’s most widespread variety “Grüner Veltliner”. We then travel to the easternmost wine region - the Burgenland - where more and more red wine is produced and where the late-ripening “Blaufränkisch” grape is king in some appellations. The southernmost wine region - Styria – is a mountain region. The vineyards in this magnificent, hilly landscape alternate with forests, idyllic orchards, and flower meadows. Our tour takes us to iconic winemakers well-known among the world’s wine afficionados; to the increasing number of biodynamic winemakers; to beautiful castles and palaces - some of which are also wine estates; picturesque villages; glorious monasteries where wine was already produced one thousand years ago and is still produced today; baroque churches; and an exquisite cuisine of distinctive culinary specialties.


     

    • We will visit a total of 20 wineries in Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) with its eight subregions, in the Burgenland with its six subregions, in the Steiermark (Styria) with its three subregions and of course in Vienna, Austria’s capital that is not just a city but also a wine region.
    • We will get intimate insights into a selection of Austria’s best of the best wineries, normally not open to visitors.
    • We will learn how to read the label on Austrian wine bottles.
    • We will get to know the classification of Austrian wines including the relatively new DAC classification.
    • We will learn about Austrian grape varietals.
    • We will enjoy typical Austrian restaurants with lots of "Gemütlichkeit".
    • We will enjoy exquisite, refined meals at top rated restaurants in Austria.
    • We will experience the charm of Austrian hospitality.
    • We will journey through the turbulent and opulent history of the Austrian empire.
    • We will travel through stunningly beautiful viticultural landscapes.
    • We will get the "inside track".

     

    Small but beautiful - that is Austrian viticulture on the global stage. Austria is, with France, Italy, Spain, and Germany, considered one of the best wine-growing countries in Europe. With 112,500 acres under vine, the wine production is considerably lower than in the other four countries. Slightly smaller than the US State of Maine, Austria is a landlocked country in the Eastern part of central Europe. It borders Slovenia to the south, Italy to the south-west, Switzerland to the west, Germany to the north-west, Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia to the north-east, and Hungary to the east.
    Austria can be divided into two parts: the ski lovers paradise in the westerly part of the country with the 12,500 feet high Großglockner being the highest mountain in the Austrian Alpine region. The moderately hilly, sometimes flat easterly part is the wine lovers paradise.
    There are four main wine regions, going from north to south: Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) with 70,000 acres, Wien (Vienna) with 1,600 acres, Burgenland with 33,500 acres, and Steiermark (Styria) with 11,500 acres.
    Wine has been cultivated in Austria for more than two thousand years. The monastery Klosterneuburg in Lower Austria was one of the earliest wine producing estates and is the oldest viticultural college and research center in the world. Austria’s centuries-old winegrowing tradition, the strive for top quality, its 40 approved grape varieties - among them brilliant indigenous varieties - , ideal climatic and geological conditions lets Austrian wine do one thing better than a lot of other wines: express history, site, climate, and vintage.
    Come along and explore Austria with us. You will discover the charming and historically fascinating Austrian culture, the wide variety of styles, aromas, and terroir of Austrian wines.