Second of two parts One of the most heady delights for any wine lover is a visit to a vineyard. Hike or bicycle through the countryside, then sip wine and unpack a picnic near lush, green rows of vines. In the warm afternoon, tromp down into the winery's cool, dark cellar that smells of damp earth and spilled wine. In the evening, exhausted but content, taste local cuisine with the wines and sleep soundly at a vintner's family-run bed and breakfast.
If we had to choose a favorite place for such an experience, Austria would rank at the top of the list. Unlike more industrial wine-producing areas, in Austria visitors can still get close to the process and the people who craft some wonderful, handmade wines. Its wine-growing areas are diverse in wine styles, grape varieties and landscape. Yet they are concentrated along the country's eastern side and are easily accessible by car -- with the steep terraces of the renowned Wachau vineyards only an hour's drive from Vienna.
But, in fact, even before you leave Vienna, winery adventure awaits in the city's leafy, outer districts of Heiligenstadt, Nussdorf, Sievering, Neustift am Walde and Grinzing. Vienna is itself a wine-growing region, where vineyards were documented as early as 1132. Its traditional "Heurigen" inns were launched in 1784 by Emperor Josef II, who decreed that vintner families could sell homemade meals with their wines.