Special to Road Trips for Wine
By Vienna Tourism

Wine has had a long tradition in Vienna, Austria. This is reflected not only by the numerous heurige but also several beautiful, old wine cellars. These are drawing in visitors with special offers and guided tours.

Here are some to check out next time you’re in Vienna:

The 500 year-old Villon Wine Cellar is one of the oldest wine cellars in Vienna. A four-storey descent leads 16 meters below the streets in the heart of Vienna. The cellar tour is followed by a tasting of excellent wines, accompanied by stories from the cellar’s history, as well as about Viennese wine and Viennese spring water. These narrated wine tastings are held at fixed times every Friday and Saturday (registration required) or can be individually arranged for groups with a minimum of 10 persons.

The magnificent Wine Cellar in the Palais Coburg was constructed inside historical ruins from the 16th century. The Wine Archive and champagne cellar consist of six different rooms, each with a unique character and specific dedication. 60,000 bottles are stored here in a 755 square-meter area. This collection of precious, rare wines is among the best in the world and has received numerous awards. A wide range of wine cellar tours and tastings are offered at the Palais Coburg.

Some parts of the cellar vaults at the Artner Restaurant on Franziskanerplatz date back to the Middle Ages. The accessible wine cellar in its historical surroundings has been redesigned with a few modern elements and holds 7,000 bottles. The emphasis is on wines from the Carnuntum region in Lower Austria.

Also worth seeing are the Schlumberger Champagne Cellars, the oldest in Austria. More than two million bottles are stored in the 300 year-old cellar of the original Schlumberger building in Vienna Döbling. On the tours through the several kilometers-long cellar labyrinth, visitors can get detailed information about how champagne is made, the Méthode Traditionnelle, and what the shaking of the bottles is all about. One or more glasses of champagne are served afterwards, depending on the type of tour.

Details:

Villon Wine Cellar, Habsburgergasse 4.
Wine tasting for groups of 10 or more persons upon request
Appointments for individual bookings Fri 4 p.m. or Sat 5 p.m. with prior registration.
Registration under info@villon.at or tel. +43-699-19 67 91 29
Tasting and cellar tour: duration approx. 1.5-2 hours
Price: €39 per person

Wine cellar at Palais Coburg, Coburgbastei 4.
Registrations for cellar tours and tastings at weinarchiv@palais-coburg.com or tel. +43-1-518 188 810

Artner on Franziskanerplatz, Franziskanerplatz 5.
Tasting with prior registration: tl. +43-1-503 50 34 pr franziskanerplatz@artner.co.at

Schlumberger Champagne Cellar, Heiligenstädter Strasse 43.
Guided tours only with prior registration at +43-1-368 22 59-909
Mon 10 a.m., Thur. 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. on the hour or with prior registration
Guided tours €7.50 per person incl. 1 glass of champagne, €15 with large tasting (5 kinds)
Closed on holidays unless reservations have been made by phone.

(Photo of Schlumberger Champagne Cellar courtesy of Vienna Tourism)