Weinviertel

The Weinviertel or 'wine quarter' is the extensive, fertile, Danube plain stretching north from Vienna to the Czech border which produces most of Austria's everyday wine, its sparkling Sekt and some interesting red wine too. The Weinviertel was the first region to be awarded DAC status for its Grüner Veltliner. (DAC or Districtus Austriae Controllatus, similar to France’s appellation contrôlée system, generally links a region to a particular grape variety and style.) The Weinviertel is home to half of all the Grüner Veltliner vines planted in Austria. Müller-Thurgau and Welschriesling are also common here and the red Zweigelt is successful in the hands of producers such as Pfaffl. Other notable producers include Graf Hardegg, Setzer and Zull.