One of the eight specific wine-growing regions in the Austrian federal state or generic wine-growing region of Lower Austria. It lies to the east, bordering the Wachau wine-growing region. Named after the river Krems, the Kremstal extends north and south of the Danube and includes the town of Krems, the wine-growing areas to the east and the small wine-growing communities south of the Danube.

The picture shows the two vineyards Gottschelle and Oberfeld as well as the famous Göttweig Abbey in the background.

History

Vineyards belonging to the diocese of Passau in the Krems Valley are documented as early as 973. After the devastation of the Migration Period, bishops from Salzburg and Bavaria had vineyards cultivated here from the 10th century onwards. Until the 16th century, over 40 monasteries around the town of Krems were granted vineyards as endowments.

The French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) visited Göttweig Abbey in 1805 before the occupation of Vienna and was impressed by the area and the wine. The Austrian composer and self-confessed wine lover Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) is said to have found the inspiration for his "Mariazell Mass" in the same monastery. The 1000-year history of the Moser winegrowing dynasty is closely linked to the region. The winegrowing pioneer Laurenz Moser III (1905-1978) from Rohrendorf near Krems introduced the vine training high culture he created in his vineyards in 1929, which soon became a standard in many winegrowing regions.

Climate & soils

The predominant soil types are primary rock and loess. The relatively cool and humid Atlantic climate is positively characterised by the influence of the Pannonian climate. The deeply incised Danube valley is particularly favoured. In the larger northern part, which belongs to the Waldviertel, lies Krems with the district of Stein and the vineyards Frechau, Goldberg, Danzern, Grillenparz, Hund, Kögl, Marthal, Pfaffenberg, Sandgrube, Schreck and Wieden.

Other wine-growing communities are Gedersdorf (Geppling, Moosburgerin, Reisenthal, Spiegel, Steindl, Tiefenthal, Weitgasse, Wieland, Zehetnerin), Rohrendorf (Gebling, Breiter Rain, Paschingerin, Schnabel, Steinwandl, Wolfsgraben) and Senftenberg (Ehrenfels, Hochäcker, Pellinger, Pfenningberg, Rammeln).

In the southern area on the right bank of the Danube lies the world-famous Göttweig Abbey, founded in 1072 by the Roman Catholic Benedictine order. The wine-growing communities are Brunnkirchen and Thallern (Brunnfeld, Frauengrund, Herrentrost, Maring, Satzen, Schwerer Zapfen, Steinhagen), Eggendorf, Furth-Palt, Krustetten, Höbenbach, Hollenburg, Meidling, Oberfucha, Tiefenfucha, Paudorf and Steinaweg (Brunngraben, Eichbühel, Gottschelle, Hahn, Höhlgraben, Oberfeld, Point, Schrötten, Steinbühel, Obere and Untere Zistel, Wolfsberg).

Grape variety index

In 2022, the vineyards covered a total of 2,252 hectares of vines. Compared to 2015 with 2,369 hectares, this was a reduction of 117 hectares (5%). The proportion of red wine varieties was 15%, the proportion of white wine varieties 85%. Grüner Veltliner dominates with over half of the stock, followed by Zweigelt, Riesling and Müller-Thurgau.