Cultural Landscape Wachau - Viticulture in the Danube Valley

2023-08-18 14:18:19

“Austrian Experience” on Sunday, September 3, 2023, 4:30 p.m., ORF 2

St. Polten (OTS) – The Wachau – 35 kilometers of the Danube UNESCO World Heritage Site, characterized by gentle vineyards and historical places. The river landscape of the Wachau stretches between Krems and Melk. For many generations, the Wachau winegrowing families have ensured the preservation of traditional winegrowing, which dates back to Roman times. The winegrowers take care of the great heritage of the cultural landscape – from the vine to the wine bottle. This “Austrian Experience” from the ORF Landesstudio Niederösterreich, produced by POPUP Media (design: Florian Prögler), takes the viewer on a special journey through the Wachau World Heritage.

With special insights into the cultivation of the vines along the river landscape, which is characterized by elaborate manual work. The intensive viticulture is mainly operated on often steep slopes. Stone terraces and dry stone walls characterize the image of the cultural landscape of the Wachau. The dry stone walls have to be renewed and maintained every year, a building art according to a very old tradition. The comparatively mild climate of the valley floor, with frequent sunny days and cool nights, has led to intensive viticulture for thousands of years.

Without the association of the “Vinea Wachau” the care and cultivation of the region would be unthinkable. With the aim of preserving this traditional cultivation method, more than 200 local companies have joined the “Vinea Wachau Nobilis Districtus” association, “Vinea Wachau” for short, since 1983. They shape natural viticulture around “thinking in small units” with a strict code. “Vinea Wachau” celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2023. The founding fathers include Emerich Knoll senior, Franz Hirtzberger and Josef Jamek.

Old and young together preserve the cultural assets in the Wachau World Heritage Site for generations. We experience the everyday life of the winegrowing families around Riesling, Grüner Veltliner and Neuburger and accompany the vines over the course of the seasons from knitting in summer to harvesting in autumn. The documentary is also present at festivals such as the “Wachau Wine Spring” and the “Steinfeder Night” and shows the different locations, soils, the microclimate and how everything is reflected in the wine.

Editor: Mag. Sabine Daxberger-Edenhofer