EN 
DE 
FR 
IT Showing 1-24 of 63 results
Nikolaihof
A wine cellar where Roman legionnaires quenched their thirst - sounds like a legend, but in the Nikolaihof Wachau but reality. Austria's oldest vineyard stands on Roman foundations dating back to 63 B.C. The Saahs family has been cultivating this site since 1894 and has been biodynamic according to Demeter standards since 1971. Riesling and Grüner Veltliner mature on 22 hectares in large wooden barrels - sometimes for 20 years. The result? The first Austrian wine with 100 Parker points.
More about Nikolaihof
Where Roman legionaries planted their vines
When you step through the gate of Nikolaihof, you enter living history. Beneath your feet lie the foundations of Favianis, a Roman fort dating back to 63 BC. The Celts revered this place as a sacred site long before that. The inner courtyard is still home to the medieval Agapitus Chapel, while the vineyard „Im Weingebirge“ is considered the first documented vineyard in Europe - documented since 470 AD. Not a marketing story, but historical fact.
Demeter pioneers out of necessity
The Saahs family took over Nikolaihof in 1894, but lost large parts of the estate during the Second World War. When grandfather Saahs bought the estate back in 1960, he died in the same year. In 1962, his son was faced with a new start without capital - and was forced to use „old methods“. What began as a shortcoming became a conviction: When Christine Saahs married into the family in 1971, she brought her experience with Rudolf Steiner's biodynamic principles with her. The Nikolaihof became Austria's first Demeter-certified winery and remains the only certified biodynamic producer in the Wachau to this day. When Fred Loimer When he co-founded the respekt-BIODYN association in neighbouring Kamptal in 2006, Nikolaihof had long since become a role model for a new generation of Austrian winegrowers.
20 years of patience in the Roman cellar
The Roman vaulted cellar is home to a 350 year old tree press - a monument of oak beams that produces wines of phenomenal inner structure. The musts ferment spontaneously in large Slavonian oak barrels, some are stored here for a decade or longer. The legendary Vinotheque line epitomises this philosophy: the 1995 Riesling Vinothek matured for almost 20 years before it became the first Austrian wine to receive 100 Parker points in 2014. Christine Saah's reaction? She offered the rare wine only by the glass in our own restaurant under an old lime tree in the courtyard.
Elegance instead of concentration
While many Wachau winemakers focus on strength and extract, Nikolaus Saahs jr. chooses a different path. His wines - the mineral In the wine mountains Grüner Veltliner or the complex Steiner Dog Riesling - show moderate alcohol levels and amazing longevity. The 22 hectares function as living organismWild herbs grow between the vines, bees buzz and emerald lizards sunbathe on the stone terraces. You can taste this biodiversity - in wines of crystalline clarity and delicate structure.