The Lower Austrian Weinviertel district just relaxes you. Gourmet. Travel. Delights. Like everything up here in the wine country of Lower Austria, the region north of Vienna soothes you by a mere magnificent look over its gently rolling hills & meadows recalling the Italian Tuscany. Of course, you should not forget to head out to all the wineries either. Naturally, as you might assume, in an area concerned by wine! Just how natural the topics of wine & culture are woven into the local fabric of Lower Austria is what I am going to show you here: “Tafeln im Weinviertel”. Schlosshotel Palace Hotel & Wine Adventure Cellars in Retz. Wirtshauskultur Gourmet Association & local wind mill in Retz. Check it out!
The Wine City Retz: At the heart of “WEINschlössl”, Wine Cellars & More
“Actually, I only grew up about an hour away from here … and yet I have never even been to see the famous Retz wine cellars“, I admit a bit shamed to our group of international travel bloggers joining me in our Weinviertel gourmet experience (thank you, dear Götz A. Primke, for your constant “winetainment” comments, happiness & laughter! Read more about how Monsieur Le Gourmand liked the Weinviertel district on his marvellous digital gourmet magazine 😀 ).
So, at the start of our delightful Weinviertel trip, we decided to explore the epicentre of viticulture descending into 500 year old cellars (beautiful and cool in the summer heat!), “taking turns” at the wind mill of Retz, one of the oldest still in use in the whole of Austria, only to end up eating (what else) in a top notch local gourmet restaurant called the Weinschlössl
, part of the Lower Austrian “Wirtshauskultur”.
Man, can you have a feast here !! Let me take you by the hand ..
The wind mill in Retz is still used for grinding corn today.
These charming “young boys” are taking turns to set the wind mill in motion: At every full hour, tours are offered exploring the wind mill and its functioning, on request also in English & Czech languages.
A piece of freshly baked bread straight from corn ground at the wind mill in Retz: cannot beat this! We like to take a bite. Yum!
After all these adventures, it is time to head to the restaurant: The local “Weinschlössl” serves beautiful local meals designed for a light, seasonal summer cuisine.
Enjoy your meal …
… our top pick in terms of gourmet restaurants in the entire area of the wine city Retz!
Such a feast gets us ready to explore the mysterious cellar vaults of Retz, totalling many kilometres on three different levels beyond the city intended to store wine throughout the centuries.
After each tour, you get to enjoy a glass of excellent Grüner Veltliner Weinviertel DAC, the regional quality brand.
“Have a pleasant stay”: We check the Weinviertel & Geniesserzimmer slogans for great local, “winesome” storytelling!
I have already mentioned it at the start and experienced it continuously throughout our trip: Gourmet experiences abound in the Weinviertel. The area swings to a rhythm that is truly unique and utterly relaxed. Those who stress out here cannot be helped, really. “Is it possible to postpone our wine tasting in the castle cellar vaults to the next day? Are we able to extend our vintage tractor ride by an hour?” – “E-Bikes? Of course we can organise those again for you, don’t you worry!” Rita Faller & Dagmar, the charming ladies of the house at Schlosshotel Mailberg Palace Hotel are each constantly engaged for our comfort and wellbeing, making the ancient castle walls of the Maltese Knights’ Palace in the wine city Mailberg shine with welcome. Our intention is to stay in one of the charming Lower Austrian “Geniesserzimmer”, rooms that like on our recent trip in the Mostviertel district distinguish themselves from other types of accommodation thanks to special local features such as typical Mailberg wine on our room, the personal care by the staff and our very own wish list! Can you believe it? As travellers staying in the Lower Austrian “Geniesserzimmer”, we each get to choose three from seven different wishes such as a personal guided tour of Mailberg castle, the choice of our favourite deck chair in the garden or an extra bottle of champagne on our room. We finally settle for a glass of homemade jam to take home with us, the personal postcard to our loved ones as well as the sparkling wine on our room. Magnificent!
Having arrived in the Weinviertel at the beautiful wine city of Mailberg and its palace hotel, we are greeted by the lovely straw hats that the destination Weinviertel provides for us. Holiday feeling: check!
The so-called “Geniesserzimmer” local gourmet room succeeds in surprising us by “fulfilling our every wish” as part of a wish list that is guaranteed by the host to be fulfilled during your stay. Fairy tales do come true!
Just relax … enjoy … Weinviertel is magic we find. 😀
Schlosshotel Mailberg Palace likes to organize unique local experiences such as this vintage tractor ride through the nearby vineyards. Alternatively, you can rent an E-Bike or join a wine tasting in the cellar vaults of the estate.
At the Palace Hotel, the atmosphere is unique and elegant …
… as well as down-to-earth regional local: Here, we get to dig into local jams for breakfast that taste twice as good.
And of course, we also had to head for “our” wine tasting, eventually … Cheers, my dears!
“Tafeln im Weinviertel”: THE local gourmet highlight in the wine summer of Lower Austria
I swear that sitting down at this magnificently laid out table in the Weinviertel, right inside the vineyards (!), has been THE highlight of our gourmet trip to the Lower Austrian Weinviertel district. Each year now for several years, the best gourmet chefs from around here get together welcoming national & international visitors alongside one long table set right inside the vineyard of a local wine estate. The best of the best is served: Weinviertel bread (oooh, so tasteful). Weinviertel deer. Weinviertel snails. Weinviertel strawberries. All of them, juicy & sweet. “Tender beef loins & Weinviertel snails topped with summer vegetables & potato strudel” or “lemon sorbet with crispy heart waffles, strawberries & honey sauce“. We looove! Seriously. My mouth is already watering again and mind you, I have returned from this trip full and happy as it is. “Tafeln im Weinviertel” is a sound gourmet event highlight not to be missed anytime between June – August each year in the Weinviertel district: Check out upcoming dates here. Enjoy your MEAL & BON APPÉTIT!
Cheers at “Tafeln im Weinviertel”: We toast to a magnificent night on 21 June, 2013, the shortest in the whole year – let the summer begin!
This unique “Tafeln” gourmet event is best combined with a short trip staying in the area of the Weinviertel and soaking up its fantastic foodie rhythm.
Beautiful ambiance with great food and candle light … this event ticks all the boxes and wins our hearts.
A good idea: Getting rid of all those calories while e-biking from Schlosshotel Mailberg on the following morning.
Or, you go back to enjoying more food (also, always a good option 😉 Here, we enjoy the “Top Wirt 2013” Wirtshauskultur-Restaurant Retzbacherhof in Unterretzbach in the northern Weinviertel district.
Enjoy, dear readers! Hope to have you all converted into avid food travellers by now 😀
Disclaimer: We have been invited by Weinviertel Tourismus & the Lower Austrian Geniesserzimmer in order to travel and experience “Tafeln im Weinviertel” in the Lower Austrian Weinviertel district. All opinions are my own.