What to do and see in Austria, Austria: The Best Forests

Reviewed By CarolDM1900 - Montpelier, United States

I've previously written about spring here ("Springtime, Vienna Woods: 3 Great Routes to Walk or Run," 5/25/15), but autumn is wonderful too, given the vineyard "open houses" about two weekends a month August through October. You can meander along rolling hills in seasonal colors and stop for wine and traditional Viennese country dishes at rustic wine taverns (here called "heurigen," or "hueriger" if just one). The open houses represent the vintners' celebration of a successful harvest and offer visitors wine tasting directly from the growers. What a concept! Vienna is unique among European capitals in having a significant wine-producing region within the city limits, albeit away from the urban core, in the wooded hills, notably those below Kahlenberg. You can take a tram (#38) to Grinzing from the Schottentor station in central Vienna, and from there get a bus (#38A) up to Kahlenberg. That will give you a downhill walk on wooded pathways dotted with vineyards and their heurigen. If you'd prefer an uphill walk (not all that hard, and the first part is paved), you can take the D Tram from Schottenor station to Nussdorfplatz. The scenic Eichelhofweg will get you up to the vineyards, as you walk uphill through toward Kahlenberg. There are beautiful sights along the way, and many different choices of wine taverns, some large with extensive vineyards and others small, family-run operations. All are very welcoming. To get back to the city center, just reverse the route described above, continuing to walk up to Kahlenberg (easy to identify by its big buildings) or enjoy the walk back down to Nussdorfplatz to catch the D tram. Most of the grapes grown here are white varietals. There will be familiar wines like sauvignon blanc, riesling, and weissburgunder. But you can also sample the delightful grüner veltliner and gemischter satz, among others. The same is true of reds. In addition to the well-known wines like pinot noir, merlot, and syrah, you can taste local favorites like Zweigelt and St. Laurent. Our favorite heuriger is Wailand, which is just about in the center of the vineyards. We have been there many, many times. On this fall day, we walked up and back from Nussdorfplatz with friends and enjoyed a great afternoon with a couple of bottles of Wailand's very good zweigelt barrique and a two tasty food platters to share. The "open house" menu is always pretty large (with many kinds of sausage and other Viennese favorites) and the views are spectacular over the vineyard toward the city center (to right, you can see St. Stephan's spire) and the Danube (to left, you can see the tall buildings of "new Vienna" across the river. IMHO walking through the vineyards of the Vienna Woods on a fall "Open House" weekend is just one of the most pleasant and enjoyable things you can do while visiting this great city. Highly Recommended.