📍 Wagram

Wagram is a wine zone on the north bank of the Danube in Lower Austria, between Krems and Vienna. The name means a high river bank left behind by the Danube. This long ridge of loess runs along the river and looks out over the wide valley. Loess is a loose, yellow, dusty rock that holds moisture well and gives wines softness.

The main grape is Grüner Veltliner. It makes light, peppery wines as well as more serious, aged ones. Wagram is also regarded as the home of the rare grape Roter Veltliner (“red Veltliner”) which, despite the name, is a white grape with pinkish berries, giving soft wines scented with spice and ripe fruit. Red grapes also grow, and their wines are soft.

Well-known villages of the zone are Fels am Wagram and Kirchberg am Wagram. Estates here are small, often family-run, and cellars are dug straight into the loess. Rows of such cellars along village streets are called “Kellergassen”.

For comparison with its neighbours: to the west lie the Kremstal and Wachau with rocky soils, to the east the Vienna Woods and the capital, and to the north the hills of the Weinviertel.