Grapes have been grown in the sunny region south of Vienna for more than 2000 years. Roman legionnaires stationed in Carnuntum and Vindobona improved the local varieties by importing vines from Italy. Along with the plants, they also brought the knowledge and skills required for making wine to the province of Pannonia.

In 1141, Cistercian monks at Heiligenkreuz Monastery founded Austria’s oldest winery. Viticulture suffered a severe setback during the Turk wars in the 16 th and 17 th centuries, in the course of which large areas of vineyards were destroyed. A rapid recovery was brought by the Teutonic Order, which started planting grapes of Pinot Noir here for the first time in 1760.

The high quality of wines from the Thermenregion was also appreciated by the Austrian imperial family. When the railway line was built in 1840, Emperor Ferdinand I even ordered a special tunnel to be constructed in order to spare the fine vineyards.


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