Wachau Valley – Wine and Wheels

Is it the Napa Valley of Austria….the home of quaint medieval villages aligned along the Danube river, or is it …..heaven?  For us it was both. 

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed in beautiful Weissenkirchen, in the center of the Wachau Valley between Melk and Krems, in the heart of Austria’s grape growing region.  Wine has been produced in this area since Charlemagne (800AD)!We slept in a home that was built over 500 years ago, but was recently renovated with all new modern amenities.

The Wachau Valley is a bicyclist dream.  The paths are paved and well marked and tons of people use them.  Long distance riders to local commuters pedal through the vines and villages.  We joined in the fun and rented two and cruised through this very lush valley.

 

At every turn in the road was a picturesque town, funky architecture, a castle on the hill, or steep terraces filled with our favorite fruit!

To top off our experience, a local family hosted us for a personal wine tasting and education on many of the Austrian varietals.  This family has been making wines from the grapes they grow on the hills surrounding their home for almost 200 years.   We toured their wine making cellar in their basement.  It has been used for producing and storing wines for 1100 years!  Hard to even imagine.  “We have a car now, let’s buy a case or two”.  It’s unfortunate that the wines made here aren’t available in the USA.  But our host family sells every bottle they make and are currently upgrading their equipment in order to increase volume of their higher quality varietals.   (aka…less jug wine). We’ll drink to that!    

If you go to the Wachau Valley, and we highly recommend that you do, remember to pack your padded shorts and cycle, eat and drink your way between the heurigens (wine tasting venues), home made preserve stands and gourmet restaurants.