The winegrowers' association in Wien (Austria) was founded at the beginning of 2006. Members are the Viennese wineries Christ Rainer, Cobenzl, Edlmoser Michael, Fuhrgassl-Huber, Mayer am Pfarrplatz and Wieninger. The aim is to set new quality standards for Viennese wine and to make its unique character manifest internationally. Among other things, special attention is paid to the traditional Viennese Gemischter Satz, which has to be vinified according to strict rules of an association created especially for this purpose. The association successfully lobbied for a provincial law that became effective in 2015, which makes it mandatory to manage Viennese vineyards for the purpose of protecting them from real estate speculation.
The association set itself the goal of establishing a site classification according to international standards for the winegrowing region Wien that corresponds to the idea of terroir. As a first step, the sites of the WienWein members were classified in 2016. Out of a total of 145 Viennese vineyards or sites, 12 were defined that deserve the title Erste Lage due to their soil characteristics and microclimate, as well as the special quality of the wines grown there. These are the vineyards Gollin, Langteufel, Preußen, Rosengartel and Ulm on the Nußberg, the vineyards Schenkenberg, Seidenhaus and Steinberg in Grinzing, the vineyards Falkenberg and Wiesthalen on the Bisamberg, and the vineyards Himmel and Sätzen on the Maurerberg.
They cover a total of over 18 hectares of vineyards. The typical white wine varieties of the Wiener Gemischter Satz are cultivated on these sites. Since the 2018 vintage, these vineyards/sites have been listed on the label. According to the vision of the WienWein winemakers, the long-term project of site classification provides for five levels: Gebietswein, Ortswein, Riedenwein, Erste Lage and Große Lage. So far, no "Große Lagen" have been defined. It is open to every Viennese winery to join the project. In 2018, the Traditionsweingüter Österreich was expanded to include Viennese vineyards. The 12 sites now also correspond to the "Erste Lage" site classification of this association. In the garden of the former imperial residence Schönbrunn Palace in the district of Hietzing, a vineyard was planted in 1753 in the Ried Liesenpfennig. The vineyard was reactivated by WienWein in 2009 in cooperation with Schönbrunn Palace.
Wine bottles: WienWein - © Raimo Rumpler.
Silk House: © Herbert Lehmann 2018
Langteufel: © Herbert Lehmann 2018
