You only see what you know (Goethe)
The hall of grapes (Traubenhalle) is one part of the Vino Versum in Poysdorf. The hall houses an exhibition about the history of wine and the relationship between wine growing and Poysdorf. One fun exhibit is the parliament of bottles which depicts the parliament of Austria by wine bottles.
Poysdorf, a place famous for its wine in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, is coverd with 100+ depictions of wine bottles each decorated by a different artist. Love No. 55 which I found in the beginning of the hollow way Radyweg.
An exhibit with an interesting story seen at the Hall of Grapes in Poysdorf is the vineyard goat (Weinbeergoaß). This symbol is said to go back to a biblical story of Noah: After observing a goat eating grapes he tried them for himself and became the father of winegrowing.
This fun sculpture is placed next to a memorial plaque to the Austrian actor Hans Moser. Schulpture and plaque are located in Gumpoldskirchen, a centre of wineries south of Vienna. Besides his movies and plays Hans Moser became famous for singing a song about the ‘Reblaus’ (‘Pyhlloxera’).
Following a guided tour through Weingut Gager, a winery in Deutschkreutz, I joined a tasting in the salesroom of the winery. After having several tastings in old vaults it was a pleasant variation to sit at a modern table in a stylish room.
The Genussmeile is an event which takes place every fall in the Thermenregion Wienerwald, an area south of Vienna. On that event one can walk along a wining and dining trail right in the vineyards between Mödling and Bad Vöslau.
The Wohnothek is a hotel complex placed right in the middle of a vineyard. Each building consists of a bedroom and a sanitary area. From each door there are only a few meters to the next vine branch.
At a wine store in Bildein I tried a very special Austrian wine named ‘Uhudler’. This wine with its flavours of strawberry and black currant has an interesting story to offer. It was even prohibited for several years!
At the end of our day in Bonn we had dinner at a wine bistro named ELBE am Rhein, located next to the river Rhine. Due of some rain we had our meal inside where we were surrounded by a lot of colorful paintings which evoked a lot of talk while waiting for the first course.
At the Domäne Wachau, I learned about a wine that was served for a very important moment in Austrian history. The wine label Katzensprung was proffered at that banquet celebrated after signing the Austrian Independent Treaty in the year 1955.
It was in the early afternoon when we arrived at the winery Willi Opitz, located in Illmitz, a small place in Burgenland. A bike standing in front of the house heavily laden with a big bottle of wine gave us the feeling we are in the right place. We walked in and were surprised …