The Weinviertel or Wine District is the home of the Grüner Veltliner wine variety and a sweeping landscape of vineyards and farmland. As the Danube carves its way out of the cliffs of the Wachau, it is greeted by the gentle hills and warm climate of the Pannonian basin. This land formed the core breadbasket of the Austrian homeland for centuries, at least since the ancient Babenberg Rulers.
This part of Lower Austria is one the Habsburg's fantasy-sounding government districts. Originally called "Unter-Manhartsberg" or the "Lower Manhartsberg", it was renamed in 1867 during an Empire-Wide reorganization. However, the region has always formed a core part of Austria, belonging first to Babenberg and later to the Habsburg Crownlands. The Babenberg family felled the forests in the region in the 13th century and turned it over to agriculture. The gentle sloping land to the east of the Manhartsberg highlands form part of the Pannonian basin, and the warm subclimate of the region made these lands especially fertile. They are also perfect for growing wine, which has been done here since ancient Rome, and is the home of the Grüner Veltiner grape, the national vintage of Austria.
