Wachau Valley Vineyards: Terraces, Wine Styles and the Estates Tours Visit

The Wachau grows its wine on stone terraces above the Danube, and it labels that wine in a way you will not see anywhere else. If you are choosing between Wachau Valley wine tours, start with what is in the glass and where each day pours it.

Terraces 250 metres above the Danube

The Wachau is 33 km of river between Melk and Krems. Its vines climb terraces that reach about 450 m above sea level, which is 250 m above the Danube. Dry-stone walls hold the terraces up, and you see them from the road, the river and the trail.

Vinea Wachau puts the intensity of the wines down to the very modest yield per vine on these steep sites, so the terraces are what you are tasting. The association, based in Spitz, counts more than 200 member estates.

Steinfeder, Federspiel and Smaragd, by strength

These three names on a Wachau label tell you how light or powerful the wine is. All three are dry and white, made without oak, and come only from Wachau grapes. Steinfeder and Federspiel may also be rosé. The names are trademarks, so only member estates of Vinea Wachau use them.

If you like a crisp glass at lunch, ask for Federspiel. If you want the most powerful style, ask for Smaragd, and expect it to be the fullest glass of your tasting.

Wachau DAC: region, village and single vineyard

Since the Wachau DAC classification, a label also tells you how precisely the grapes are placed. The pyramid has three tiers, and every grape in all three is picked by hand.

Gebietswein (regional): any of 17 typical grape varieties from anywhere in the Wachau. Estates have the most freedom here; new barrique casks are allowed.

Ortswein (village): grapes from one of 22 registered villages, matured with no perceptible oak. Only nine varieties may carry a village name.

Riedenwein (vineyard): Grüner Veltliner or Riesling only, from one of the 157 defined Rieden, with no perceptible oak and no enrichment.

The grapes must be grown and processed in the Wachau. The one exception lets processing happen in the neighbouring Kremstal and Traisental under tight controls.

Grüner Veltliner and Riesling lead the valley

Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are the only grapes allowed at the top of the pyramid, so they are the ones you will taste most. A village wine may also be one of these seven:

• Weißer Burgunder and Grauer Burgunder
• Chardonnay and Neuburger
• Muskateller and Sauvignon blanc
• Traminer

You will see single-vineyard names on bottles and on the hillsides. Vinea Wachau features Ried Hinter der Burg and Ried Steinriegl in Weißenkirchen, Ried Kreuzberg and Ried Zanzl in Rührsdorf, Ried Bruck in Viessling, and Ried Steinporz and Ried 1000-Eimerberg in Spitz.

The estates the wine tours pour at

Most shared wine days name a village rather than a winery, because the estate can change with the day. The private gourmet day names three, and you can look each one up before you go.

How a heuriger works

A heuriger is a wine tavern run by the estate that makes the wine. It opens on its own calendar rather than every day, which is why the regional tourist board publishes a wine tavern calendar. Vinea Wachau writes about the classic heuriger dishes, and about one family in Mitterarnsdorf that sets them aside for tapas-style plates you share at the table.

On a tour you meet the heuriger in two ways. The small-group wine day stops for lunch at a family-run wine tavern, which you pay for on the day. The Grand Wachau private day ends with an optional heuriger evening, also at your own cost.

Which tour visits which winery

Read the tastings column first: some days put the wine in the fare and some leave it for you to pay. Then check lunch, because it is outside the fare on most days.

Wine questions before you book

Where the grapes sit on the valley floor is on the Wachau Valley map, and the villages you taste in are on things to do in the Wachau Valley. For weather at the time of your visit, see when to visit the Wachau Valley.