Weinberge

The Experience Weinstrasse Weinviertel ...

... has a lot of facets: 132 eventful kilometres connect the Schmidatal valley, Retzer Land, Pulkautal valley and the region around Hollabrunn - a landscape full of harmony and variety. Wine accompanies all your ways, especially the "Grüner Veltliner"

Further prominent sorts of wine are the "Riesling", "Zweigelt", "Blauer Portugieser", "Müller Thurgau", "Welschriesling" and the "Muskateller". "Pinot noir", "Blauburgunder", "Cabernet Sauvignot" and "Merlot" enrich the spectrum.

The many cellar lanes of the Weinviertel region are a worldwide speciality. Prehistorical earthworks, museums, very old cities as well as impressive churches and castles further enrich the experience in the Weinstraße.

Mystical circular ditches draw old contours of history into the landscape; historical monuments tower above pagan places of worship; cities display valuable historical fabrics; castles bear testimony of history; memorials and museums preserve the old life.

The fascinating journey to the wine can start whenever and wherever one wants, but the finish and destination is always the same: We warmly welcome you at the Althof Retz!

Weinberge

Just like the whole Weinviertel region this area can be divided according to climate and soil. The city Retz is the very old centre of viticulture and wine trade. The city itself has a huge cellar and it is said that this underground system is longer than the actual road network. Under the reign of king Corvinus from Hungary the people in Retz got the right to trade wine and, thus, wine trading developed very fast.

The Weinviertel region is often called the 'Quarter under the Manhartsberg'. That's why the Manharts vine is a synonym for the "Grüne Veltliner". Thus it is not surprising that the Manhartsberg is one of the essential influencing factors for winegrowing in the western part of the Weinviertel region. The Manhartsberg mountain reaches from the Hohenwarth over Maissau, Straning and Röschitz to Retz and Retzbach.

The gneiss weathering soil at the Manhartsberg mountain, the loamy sand and loess soil as well as the unitary climate form perfect conditions for the prospering of especially fruity wine. The climate is strongly influenced by the interplay of warm air in the Weinviertel and the colder downdraught from the Manhartsberg. The grapes ripe slowely and thus the wines taste so wonderfully fruity!

In the Pulkautal valley there are other geological and climatic conditions. Winegrowing is mostly kept on the southern hillsides (Schatzberg) towards the borders of the Czech Republic. Around the centre Haugsdorf red wines like the Portugieser and Zweigelt outweigh.

The Schrattenthal valley with Zellerndorf is situated between the Pulkautal and the Manhartsberg. Thus excellent red wines are produced here too.

The Mailberg Valley, in the East of the Pulkautal valley, resembles a bowl protected from the wind. A very special "Grüner Veltliner" grows there on the loess and silicate soil.

In the Schmidatal valley winegrowing is concentrated on the western hillsides of the Schmida, parallel to the Manhartsberg. Here the "Grüne Veltliner" is also the most important sort of wine.

Hollabrunn is the economic centre of the region. Although winegrowing doesn't play an important role, there are however a few wine taverns and Heurigens.