One of the eight specific wine-growing regions in the Austrian federal state or generic wine-growing region of Lower Austria. The Danube flows through it. It stretches along the Danube between Melk and Krems, on whose northern banks many of the mostly terraced vineyards are located. The vineyards are among the steepest vineyards in Austria, 40% of which are fortified with dry stone walls.

The narrow valley along the Danube is only 33 kilometres long, the wine-growing area 15 kilometres. The gateway to the west is formed by the Benedictine Abbey of Melk, to the east it is bordered by the over 1,000-year-old town of Krems. The Wachau was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the "Cultural Landscape" category in 2000; in 2021, the construction of dry stone walls was added to the list of intangible cultural heritage as a traditional craft.

History

In the 5th century, the monk Severinus (410-482) lived near Favianis (Mautern) in the midst of vineyards, which proves that viticulture was already practised at this time. The English King Richard the Lionheart (1157-1199) was captured near Vienna on his return journey from the 3rd Crusade and held at Dürnstein Castle. King Henry II (973-1024) donated the small settlement of Liupna (Loiben) to the Tegernsee monastery in 1002. Around 1900, the mayor of Vienna Karl Lueger (1844-1910) served a Loiben wine to Emperor Franz Joseph I (1830-1916) at a ball, who commented on it with the words: "I would not have thought that there was such good wine in my country". Lueger then suggested the name "Loibner Kaiserwein".

The Benedictine Abbey of Melk owned vineyards not only in the Wachau, but also in Gumpoldskirchen, Pfaffstätten and Baden. In Rohrendorf near Krems, around 100 hectares are still owned by the monastery today; these were donated by Leuthold von Kuenring in 1113. Wine from the abbey cellar was used to extinguish a fire in 1883, the year of the second Turkish siege of Vienna, which had already engulfed the church tower in Melk and threatened the bells. In 1703, 24,000 buckets of wine were stored in the cellars, the equivalent of 1.3 million litres! Finally, in the 18th century, the income from the tithe wine was used to rebuild Melk Abbey into the magnificent baroque building it is today. Climate changes and strict taxes led to the decline of the wine culture. It was not until the middle of the 19th century that new varieties such as Veltliner and Riesling were introduced and top wines were once again produced.

Climate & soils

The terrain is mostly shallow with a high and therefore heat-retaining mineral content. The soils consist mainly of loess, sand and trenches. In some terraces, the humus layer is only 50 cm deep, with bare granite underneath. The mixed Atlantic-Pannonian climate is characterised by the moisturising Danube, which has a warming effect through reflection. An important factor for the special climate is the large temperature difference between day and night, which has a very positive effect on viticulture.

Wine-growing communities on both banks of the Danube

The Wachau wine-growing communities are mainly located to the left and some also to the right of the Danube. Flohhaxn, Himmelstiege, Honivogl and Katzensprung are old vineyards that no longer exist and are now used as names for branded wines. The municipalities on the left bank with their vineyards are

Dürnstein

The municipality with the cadastral communities of Dürnsteiner Waldhütten, Oberloiben, Rothenhof and Unterloiben includes the Heudürr, Höhereck, Hollerin, Kaiserberg (Lichtensteinerin sub-vineyard), Kellerberg (Wunderburg, Küss den Pfennig sub-vineyards), Liebenberg, Pfaffenberg, Schlossberg, Schütt and Supperin vineyards.

Loiben

The municipality (Oberloiben and Unterloiben) includes the vineyards Bockfüßl, Dinstlgarten, Frauenweingarten, Hochstrasser, Klostersatz, Kreutles, Loibenberg (Langen Zung, Rauheneck, Rothenberg, Süßenberg sub-parishes), Mühlpoint, Oberhauser, Pichlhof, Rothenhof, Schütt, Setzen, Steinertal, Trum and Wandl.

Spitz a. d. Donau

The municipality (Gut am Steg, Schwallenbach, Viessling) includes the vineyards Almenreith, Amtsgarten, Auleithen, Axpoint (Subriede Hochrain), Baumgartenthal, Brandstatt, Bruck, Burgberg(Tausendeimerberg), Bruck, Donaugarten, Fluiding, Gasslreith, Point-Gut am Steg, Setzberg (Subrieden Fischkasten, Landstallen), Hartberg, Kalkofen, Mühlgraben, Offenberg, Pluris, Singerriedel, Spitzer Birn, Spitzer Point, Steinborz, Tannen, Vogelleithen and Zornberg.

Weißenkirchen

The municipality (Joching, St. Michael, Wösendorf) includes the vineyards Achleiten, Altau, Angern, Buschenberg, Donauboden, Donaufeld, Frauengärten (Subriede Traben), Gaisberg, Harzenleiten, Hinter der Burg, Hinterkirchen, Hochrain (Subriede Ralais), Hinter Seiber, Kirchweg, Klaus, Kollmitz, Kollmütz, Pichlpoint (Subriede Pichl), Postaller, Ritzling, Steinriegl, Steinwand, Vorder Atzberg, Vorder Seiber, Weitenberg and Zwerithaler.

The municipalities on the right bank of the Danube are:

Bergern im Dunkelsteinerwald

The municipality (Geyersberg, Maria Langegg, Nesselstauden, Oberbergern, Scheiblwies, Schenkenbrunn, Unterbergern, Wolfenreith) includes the Donauleiten (Subriede Galiziberg) and Laach (Subriede Steinplatte) vineyards.

Mautern a. d. Donau

The municipality (Baumgarten, Hundsheim, Mauternbach) includes the vineyards Alte Point (Schlossberg sub-vineyard), Burggarten, Ladoschn, Prebarn, Raubern, Silberbichl (Bischofpoint, Kirschböck, Leukuschberg, Vom Stein, Zaum sub-vineyards), Strudel, Süßenberg and Weingebirge.

Rossatz-Arnsdorf

The municipality (Mitterarnsdorf, Oberarnsdorf, Rossatz, Rührdorf, Unterarnsdorf) includes the Altenweg, Frauenweingärten, Brunnthal, Höckgarten, Hoferthal, Johannserberg and Mitterbirg vineyards, Mugler (Subriede Goldberg), Kellerweingärten, Kirnberg, Kreuzberg, Poigen, Pointen (Subriede Obere Pointen, Untere Pointen), Porzen, Scheibenthal, Steiger, Siegelstal, Trauntal (Subriede Uiberthal) and Zanzl.

Grape variety index

In 2022, the vineyards covered 1,324 hectares of vines. Compared to 2015 with 1,345 hectares, this was a reduction of 21 hectares (1.6%). The proportion of white wine varieties is 94%, while the proportion of red wine varieties is only 6%. The clearly dominant white wine varieties Grüner Veltliner and Riesling together occupy over four-fifths of the total area. They are followed by Zweigelt, Müller-Thurgau, Muscat and Pinot Blanc.

DAC system

In August 2021, the origin-controlled Wachau DAC quality level was introduced as mandatory from the 2020 vintage (this was optional for 2019 vintages). All other quality wines must be marketed with the origin Lower Austria, the regional wines under the wine-growing region designation Weinland.

In addition to the generally applicable DAC conditions, special rules apply. The quality wines produced under the brand name of WV Vinea Wachau Nobilis Districtus in the Steinfeder, Federspiel and Smaragd levels remain as designations. There is a three-level pyramid of origin with the levels of regional wine, local wine and Riedenwein. Manual harvesting is mandatory for all wines.

Regional wines: The grapes may come from the entire Wachau wine-growing region. The white Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Neuburger, Muskateller, Sauvignon Blanc, Traminer, Frühroter Veltliner, Müller-Thurgau, Muskat-Ottonel and Roter Veltliner and the red Pinot Noir, St. Laurent and Zweigelt, as well as cuvées from these and Gemischter Satz are permitted.

Local wines: There are 22 protected place names (see above). The white wine varieties Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Neuburger, Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc and Traminer are authorised. These must be vinified as single-varietal wines and must have no or hardly any noticeable wood flavour.

single vineyard winesThe grapes must come from 157 defined vineyards (sites). Only the two white wine varieties Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are authorised. The wines must have no or hardly noticeable woody flavour and must not be fortified. The Steinfeder, Federspiel and Smaragd levels are possible.

Producers

Well-known producers are Alzinger, Bäuerl Wolfgang, Bruch Richard, Dinstlgut, Domäne Wachau, Donabaum In der Spitz, Donabaum Sighardt, Eder Andreas, Eigl Christian, Fischer Josef, Frischengruber, Gallhofer, Gritsch Josef, Gritsch Mauritiushof, Gritsch Roman, Hick Maria & Manfred, Hirtzberger Franz, Hofstätter, Högl Josef & Georg, Höllmüller, Holzapfel Karl, Hutter Fritz, Jamek Josef, Kartäuserhof, Knoll Emmerich, Lagler Karl, Machherndl, Muthenthaler Martin, Nikolaihof, PAX, Pichler Franz Xaver, Pichler-Krutzler, Pichler Rudi, Pomaßl, Prager, Rixinger, Schmelz Johann, Schmidl Theresa, Schneeweis, Schneeweiss Anton, Schwarz Johann, Sigl Heinz, Tegernseerhof, Urbanushof Paul Stierschneider and Veyder-Malberg. Many wineries are members of the Vinea Wachau Nobilis Districtus association.

Map and DAC pyramid: Copyright ÖWM
Weißenkirchen: Egon Mark