Checking, Fine-tuning, Researching, Pre-gaming in Austria in February 2023 - Wine & Culture Tour to Austria by ombiasy WineTours: May 28 - June 08, 2023

Annette Schiller: My husband Christian and I just came back from Austria. I do the Austria wine tour for the first time this year. I have been to Austria’s vineyards and winemakers many times, however travelling with guests and by bus is another matter than travelling alone without any responsibility for others.  Hence we drove the entire tour, checked the hotels, the roads, restaurants, wine estates, etc to make sure that everything will run smoothly when I come back with the group at the end of May. 

Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours

Annette Schiller. Austria is such a beautiful and charming country, no matter where you go. 

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). 

We then travel south to the Carnuntum region, where wine was made more than 2000 years ago and is famous for its red wine produced from the Zweigelt grape. 

The Burgenland is the easternmost Austrian wine region and shares a 240 miles long border with Hungary. Burgenland’s history is closely intertwined with that of Hungary and we sometimes cross borders to reach our next destination. More and more red wine is produced in Burgenland where “Zweigelt” and the late-ripening “Blaufränkisch” grapes are kings in some appellations.

The southernmost wine region – Steiermark, Styria – is a mountain region. Fantastic Sauvignon-Blanc is king here. In a recent blind tasting in London of Sauvignon-Blanc wines from around the world, an Austrian wine won the first spot. The vineyards in this magnificent, hilly landscape alternate with forests, idyllic orchards, and flower meadows. 

We will spend one night in Graz, where we will attend a performance at the beautiful Opera House. Graz is Austria’s second largest city and capital of the Steiermark region. The historic Renaissance and Baroque city center of Graz is one of the best preserved in Central Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

On our way to Lower Austria we stop in Eisenstadt, the capital of the Burgenland region west of lake Neusiedl. Here we visit the famous Eszerházy palace and the house where composer Joseph Haydn lived. 

We finish the tour with another highlight: the Wachau, the Kremstal, and the Kamptal, appellations in the romantic Lower Austria wine region right on the banks of the Danube river where we do an in-depth exploration of Austria’s most widespread variety “Grüner Veltliner”.

Checking, Fine-tuning, Researching, Pre-gaming in Austria in February 2023 - Wine & Culture Tour to Austria: May 28 - June 08, 2023

Annette Schiller: I am still over the moon after this trip: I always loved Austria but this time I scrutinized the country with a sharper eye and mind. And yes: Austria is breathtakingly beautiful, the wines are sooo gorgeous, people are friendly and welcoming, the Austrian dialect suggests old school gallantry, Austria’s history is still so alive and its location at the junction between Western and Eastern European countries makes it so interesting, diverse, and unique. For many centuries Austria was one of the three powers in Europe next to the English Royalty in London and the Romanovs in Sankt Petersburg, Russia. Austria’s Habsburg dynasty ruled over half of Europe for many centuries. Despite the fact that Austria has become a fairly small country after WWII - slighter small than Maine - you still feel the power of the past. Vienna is one of the most beautiful capitals with its majestic buildings, huge palaces, thousand year old cathedrals and monasteries, the mighty Danube river, the unique coffee houses where still today the major daily papers are available to feed your train of thought, the world-famous Burgtheater, Opera House, and Vienna Philharmonics, and with the still very present glamour of its famous musicians Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Franz Liszt , Franz Schubert - just to name a few.

Austria is a mostly mountainous country in the Middle / Eastern Alps. In the southernmost Austrian wine region, the Südsteiermark (Southern Styria), you have a truly alpine feeling with vineyards on extremely steep slopes and a view towards stunning mountain peaks. The only flat area is the Pannonian plains east of Lake Neusiedl at the border with Hungary. 

We will visit all wine regions in Austria, from the famous Wachau to Styria, and will visit many of the most famous wine estates. Small but beautiful - that is Austrian’s 2000 year old viticulture in an international comparison. Austria is, with France, Italy, Spain, Germany, considered one of the best wine-growing countries in Europe. Austrian wine does one thing better than a lot of other wines: expresses history, site, climate, and vintage. We will taste delicious wines made from international grape varieties as well as grapes deeply rooted in Austria’s viticultural history.

 

Wine & Culture Tour to Austria by ombiasy WineTours: May 28 - June 08, 2023 

 

Annette Schiller: This exciting tour is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience Austrian wines and Austrian culture at their best! For detailed information on the tour please visit: https://ombiasypr.com/index.php/wine-tours/austria/austria-itinerary

This tour is 90% booked. At this moment there are two slots left. You can register here: https://ombiasypr.com/index.php/wine-tours/austria/austria-registration

Don't hesitate to call me or to send me an email if you have questions. I’ll be happy to answer all your queries.

Looking forward to showing you beautiful Austria and tasting its delicious wines with you!

 

Best

Annette

Wine Tours - Wine Events - Wine Education

Annette Schiller, Diplom-Volkswirt

Washington DC - Frankfurt am Main

USA: +1 703 459 7513

GER: +49 -177 337 0281 

 

Vienna

 

 

Carnuntum

Burgenland and Hungary

 

 

 

 

 Steiermark

 

 Graz

 

 

Wachau, Kremstal and Kamptal

c

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