Vienna, City of Wine: Viticulture in the Austrian Capital

The Viennese wine tradition is an ancient and important one. For centuries, viticulture and the wine trade provided a significant part of the population's income. Until the late Middle Ages, almost every citizen and tradesman owned a vineyard, and it was customary to process the harvested grapes and cellar the resulting within the city walls in the fall. Up to eighty wine presses were operated in today's first district, and mighty wine cellars bear witness to this urban vinification. For a long time, there were even vineyards within the city's fortifications; a small remnant of vines on Schwarzenbergplatz, harvested year after year by the mayor of Vienna to great media effect, is a reminder of these times.