In the Weinviertel region north of Vienna, the wine cellar lanes preserve the memory of the region, formed from loam, lime and clay, shaped by work, wine and community. Whitewashed wine press houses line the streets here.
Once the sites of wine production, today they bear witness to the wine tradition and are increasingly becoming places for gatherings, celebrations, rest stops and refreshments for cyclists.
Near Retz in Schrattenthal, Austria's smallest wine town, you can even spend the night in the middle of the wine cellar lane. The interview with winemaker Rosi Hindler, who still produces and stores organic wines in the wine cellar lane today and welcomes guests in converted cellar rooms, shows just how much life there is in this lane.
In the past, wine cellar lanes served as production and storage facilities for wine, dug into the loess, often on the outskirts of villages, close to the vineyards. With the modernisation of viticulture, they lost their original function, but not their unique charm. Of the approximately 1,300 wine cellar lanes in Lower Austria, most are located in the Weinviertel region.
The diversity of these "villages without chimneys" can be experienced today in places such as the listed Zipf wine cellar lane in Mailberg, the Maulavern wine cellar lane in Zellerndorf with its cellar museum, the restored Hühnerkoppel wine cellar lane with its sand cellar labyrinth, and the Hadreser Kellertrift, the longest structurally enclosed wine cellar lane in Europe.
Located in a ravine with a great view of the Pulkau Valley.
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Kellertrift refers to a sunken road lined with wine cellars.
2 | Experience Kellerstund
Wine cellar lanes have always been places of conviviality. This is where the so-called "Köllamauna" (cellar men) would meet in front of the wine press houses after work to exchange news, discuss politics or seal business deals. They would enjoy a glass of wine and a simple snack: bread, bacon and cheese. However, this "Köllastund" (cellar hour) rarely lasted just one hour and was an expression of neighbourly camaraderie.
Even today, locals and visitors still gather in the wine cellar lanes. For example, at "Tafeln im Weinviertel" (Dining in the Weinviertel), where people sit together at long white-covered tables under the open sky, glasses are filled with Weinviertel DAC wine, and the kitchen serves the best the region has to offer.
Or at the Weinviertel Cellar Lane Culinary Festival, where each course is served in a different wine press house, accompanied by matching wines from the winemakers.
Wine cellar lane festivals take place from spring to autumn. But because cosy get-togethers with wine and good food are always in season, the Advent markets move into the wine cellar lanes in winter.
3 | The most beautiful cycle tours to wine cellar lanes
A perfect day of cycling in Retz begins at the historic main square, perhaps with a quick stop at Sgrafit Bike, where you can get tour tips and bikes. And then you're ready to go! Past the Retz windmill, over rolling hills, through vineyards and history. There are many different routes around Retz. The Weinviertel DAC wine cycle route runs for 56 km through the heart of the northern Weinviertel region: from Retz via Pulkau and Roseldorf to the impressive Maulaverner wine cellar lane in Zellerndorf, before returning via the Öhlbergkellergasse in Pillersdorf.
Attractive alternatives or motivating add-ons are cycle routes starting from Mailberg or Laa an der Thaya.
If you want to understand the soul of the Weinviertel region, you have to descend into the cellar tunnels. A guided tour of the cellar lanes tells the story of wine, craftsmanship and community: how entire villages were built from clay, lime and loam, where wine was once produced and stored and is still celebrated today.
A tip: the Long Night of the wine cellar lanes. On the Friday after Ascension Day, torches and lanterns light the way through the night-time cellar vaults. With mysterious stories, wine tastings and hearty snacks – atmospheric, mystical and typically Weinviertel.
