The Wachau is located 65 km west of Vienna and is probably Austria's best-known wine region. Grüner Veltliner is the traditional Wachau grape, but excellent wines are also made from Riesling and Chardonnay. The soil is stony with granite and slate. The fields are located in terraces that slope down over areas of soil that are slightly lighter with sand and loose deposits. The area is in a "fjord climate", which means that there are large fluctuations between day and night temperatures. In 1983, Vinea Wachau was formed by prominent wine houses from the area, with the aim of putting even more focus on single vineyards and quality designations.Nikolaihof is Austria's oldest winery and can be documented as far back as the year 63, while winemaking has been documented back to the year 470. Over the centuries, the old monastery of St. Nikola has been a center of political power. In 1803 the monastery was named Nikolaihof and in 1894 it was bought by Anton and Anne Saahs, whose descendants still live here, only interrupted by 18 years in the Wehrmacht and Russian ownership in connection with World War II. Nikolaihof were pioneers in biodynamics, partly due to financial constraints, which meant that there was no money for fertilizers and pesticides in the 1960s, when a completely newly graduated Nikolaus Saahs took over very suddenly after the death of his father. In 2005, Nikolaus Saahs Jr. took over. the helm of the 25 ha. and he believes, like his predecessors, in as little possible interference with the course of nature. However, he spends a lot of time in the fields to create a close bond with the vines. After harvest and vinification, the wines are stored in up to 20-year-old casks in the cellar, which was established in an old Roman crypt from 63 BC.This Riesling comes from the field Vom Stein located in Mautern. Some of Nikolaihof's oldest vines with an average age of approx. 45 years.
