Finest Austrian wines and restaurants

Enjoy the best of Austrian wines and restaurants during a long weekend in and around Vienna.

Robartus has organised this trip, at their special request, for a group of ten food and wine lovers from all over the world. It serves as an example of my tailored travel services.

Day 0

For the early arrivals, check in at your convenience at a hotel of your choice: one of Vienna’s classy, classic hotels or a centrally located modern guesthouse fitted with all mod cons.

Evening: Dinner at a wine bistro

Vienna has recently seen a flurry of new wine bistros that serve mostly organic/bio-dynamic, low intervention wines. We’ll dine at a well-stocked place with a cosmopolitan vibe where we can prepare ourselves for our visit to Burgenland, the Wachau and the vineyards of Vienna.

DAY 1

Afternoon: Visit leading Weingut (winery) in Vienna’s outskirts

Vienna is one of very few capitals, Santiago de Chile is another one, with vineyards within its city limits.
At today’s winery, of one of Vienna’s top vintners, we are going to taste the typical Wiener Gemischter Satz. It isn’t a cuvee, but a blend of at least three different grapes that are harvested, pressed and fermented together.

Evening: Dinner at one of Vienna’s ** restaurants

DAY 2

Morning: Visit a Pannobile vintner in Gols (Burgenland) –
Burgenland may internationally not be the best-known wine producing area of Austria, but it probably is the most interesting. The Pannobile group consists of mostly bio-dynamic vintners who make their wines with minimum intervention. The results are amazing.

Afternoon: Lunch at a well-known Greisslerei –
When the sun is out, we will eat in the court yard of the bistro-style restaurant of one of Austria’s topchefs. For his bistro he received 16/20 Gault Millau points.

Check-in at our charming hotel with tasteful, spacious rooms. To work up an appetite for dinner there is an optional short hike through vast reed lands to Lake Neusiedl.

Evening: Liver and kidneys –
Tonight’s chef adhers to the nose-to-tail philosophy and will serve us all the animal’s parts. Scary? For less adventurous eaters there are obviously more conventional choices. 17/20 Gault Millau points.

DAY 3

Morning: Transfer to Wachau –
Today and tomorrow we spend in the Wachau, Austria’s best-known wine region. The Wachau and the neighbouring Kremstal, Kamptal and Traisental regions – all relatively small – are known world-wide for their Grüner Veltliner, the quintessential Austrian grape from which they make crisp, peppery white wines.

Afternoon: Bubbles in the pretty town of Langenlois –
Apart from good food, our lunch at a restaurant and winery gives us a great opportunity to try one of Austria’s best bubblies. 16/20 Gault Millau points.

After lunch we visit a large cooperative winemaker. It is one of the biggest in Austria and has added much to the quality improvement of Austrian wines. About one thousand small farmers from around the region supply their best grapes of which a number of more than just quaffable wines are made. The Klosterneuburg Weinbauschule, the oldest school for viticulture in the world, is supporting the cooperative with its knowledge and its new grape varieties.

Check-in at a luxury hotel along the Danube.

Evening: Classics in modern disguise –
Tonight’s restaurant has been among the top restaurants of Austria for more than three decades. In a typically Austrian setting, we will enjoy contemporary interpretations of classic dishes. Don’t expect a schnitzel.

DAY 4

Morning: Richard the Lionhearted –
To clear our heads we offer an optional walk up to the ruins of the castle where Richard the Lionheart was kept as a prisoner. From here we have breathtaking views of the Danube valley.

On our last morning we will visit a top Wachau winery. We will learn about the regional classification system and sample some of the Rieslings and the Grüner Veltliners the Wachau is famous for, but we will also taste wines form lesser known grape varieties.

Afternoon: Farewell lunch –
Before heading back to the airport we have a simple lunch at a restaurant that is known for its fantastic wine collection. With a last glass of excellent Austrian nectar, this is your best chance to have a schnitzel or a goulash.