A Spitz estate Heuriger; Hirtzberger's courtyard serves Wachau DAC Riesling at cellar-door prices. The Singerriedel Smaragd, a single-vineyard bottling from the gneiss terraces above Spitz, appears here directly at source.
The list: Franz Hirtzberger's estate Heuriger in Spitz serves only the estate's wines including Steinporz Federspiel and Singerriedel Smaragd Riesling from the terraces above Spitz, by the glass in a village courtyard setting.
Address: Hauptstrasse 71, 3620 Spitz an der Donau, Wachau
A village gasthaus rather than a tourist wine bar, the Alte Riedmuehle in Spitz has a relaxed evening atmosphere where local winegrowers are regulars. A useful evening stop when visiting producers in the upper Wachau.
The list: Village gasthaus in Spitz with a comfortable bar area serving Wachau wines from local producers, including some not widely available in export markets. A relaxed local-facing venue where local winegrowers are regulars.
The Kunsthalle Krems (contemporary art gallery) runs a wine bar that integrates the region's Wachau and Kremstal wines with art openings and musical events.
The list: The bar at Krems's contemporary art museum pours Wachau and Kremstal wines alongside exhibition openings and evening cultural events. Music and performance programs are frequent, creating a listening-bar atmosphere on event nights.
Wein und Co is Austria's leading wine retail chain and the Krems location serves as a wine bar in the evenings, with a consistently good Wachau and Lower Austrian selection.
The list: Wein und Co's Krems branch is open into the evening, offering a broad by-the-glass selection of Austrian wines including Wachau producers, with a relaxed wine-bar atmosphere and occasional tasting events.
A village gasthaus rather than a tourist wine bar, the Alte Riedmuehle in Spitz has a relaxed evening atmosphere where local winegrowers are regulars. A useful evening stop when visiting producers in the upper Wachau.
The list: Village gasthaus in Spitz with a comfortable bar area serving Wachau wines from local producers, including some not widely available in export markets. A relaxed local-facing venue where local winegrowers are regulars.
The Roman cellar at Nikolaihof, incorporating masonry from the 1st-century Danube limes garrison, creates one of the most unusual evening tasting atmospheres in Austria.
The list: On evenings when the Roman cellar at Nikolaihof is open for visits, the estate serves wine from the current vintage in the historic stone vault that incorporates Roman-era construction from the Faviana garrison period.
The hotel Schloss Durnstein, occupying a 17th-century Renaissance castle on the Danube at Durnstein, offers cellar evening tastings in its original stone vault.
The list: The hotel's historic vaulted cellar hosts wine tasting evenings for house guests, featuring vertical flights of Wachau Smaragd wines poured by the sommelier in a Baroque stone cellar setting beneath the castle.
Loibnerhof's dinner format pairs multi-course seasonal menus with vertical Smaragd wine flights. Reservations are essential and the event calendar fills weeks in advance during peak season.
The list: Multi-course wine dinners at Loibnerhof, the Wachau's foremost wine-focused restaurant, pairing aged Smaragd wines with regional produce in an intimate dining room overlooking the Danube vineyard terraces.