Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours will take place from Sunday, May 28 - Thursday, June 08, 2023. We will tour Austria for 12 days, starting and ending in Vienna.

For all 2023 tours by ombiasy WineTours see: ombiasy WineTours: Wine Tour Schedule 2023 - Austria, Germany/East, Burgundy/ Champagne, Germany/ North http://schiller-wine.blogspot.com/2022/11/ombiasy-winetours-wine-tour-schedule.html 

Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours

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”. 

• 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".

Wine Country Austria

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.

Accommodation: 11 Nights

Night 1: Sunday, May 28: Mercure Hotel Wien Zentrum, a 4 star modern hotel right in the heart of Vienna’s historic city centre. St.Stephans cathedral, the State Opera, the recently re-opened Albertina, Hofburg, Museums Quarter and the exclusive shopping areas are within walking distance. 

Nights 2 + 3: Monday, May 29 + Tuesday, May 30: Hotel Knappenstöckl, Schloss Halbturn in Halbturn a family-run, small, very charming hotel in a fantastic location, in the park of the Baroque castle Halbturn, a favorite week-end retreat of Habsburg’s Empress Maria-Theresia.

Night 4: Wednesday, May 31: Sporthotel Kurz in Oberpullendorf, a 4 star, very modern spa hotel with tennis, golf courts, and a huge pool in a rural area close to the Hungarian border and the birthplace of Franz Liszt.

Nights 5 + 6: Thursday, June 01 + Friday, June 02: Weinrefugium Brolli in the vicinity of Gamlitz, a 4 star hotel with a pool and spa facilities located in an absolutely beautiful spot. The vineyard rooms, which I reserved, are very upscale with a balcony providing for stunning views over the vineyards and the gorgeous Styria landscape.

Night 7: Saturday, June 03: Palais Hotel Erzherzog Johann in Graz, this 4 star, elegant hotel in a former 60 room Baroque palace makes you feel being transported back to Habsburg times. The location is perfect: right in the center of charming old town Graz.

Nights 8 + 9 + 10: Sunday, June 04 + Monday, June 05 + Tuesday, June 06: Gartenhotel Pfeffel in Dürnstein, a 4 star spa hotel sandwiched between the Wachau vineyards and the Danube river. The location is spectacular with stunning views from our rooms over the Danube river and towards the Danube valley.

Night 11: Wednesday, June 07:Mercure Hotel Wien Zentrum, a 4 star modern hotel right in the heart of Vienna’s historic city centre. St.Stephans cathedral, the State Opera, the recently re-opened Albertina, Hofburg, Museums Quarter and the exclusive shopping areas are within walking distance. 

Detailed Itinerary of Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours

For a detailed itinerary of Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours go here. There, you also find information on pricing.

Picture:  The Wines of Austria - Presentation by Annette Schiller, ombiasy WineTours, at the 2021 American Wine Society National Conference in Atlantic City