Weingut Stift Göttweig Ried Gottschelle 1.ÖTW Kremstal DAC Grüner Veltliner

The Wine

The origin of the striking name Gottschelle (GOTT shell-uh) cannot be clearly verified, but it probably refers to an expression from the foothills of the Alps, where "Goetschen" describes the sharp edge of a ridge. The first documented mention was made in 1341 as "Gotschalich".

The soil is characterized by gravel and weathering deposits and there are massive loess formations, which has a particularly positive effect on the development of the Veltliner grapes. The vines are between 50 and 70 years old. Weingut Stift Göttweig cultivates 9 acres of vineyards in the Ried Gottschelle.

This impressive Grüner Veltliner has a minimum ageing potential of 20 years, and good on ya if you can resist the temptation to keep it that long. But no worries if not - the wine is gob-smacking right now. Best served at a temperature between 10 and 12° Celsius. Grüner Veltliner is a perfect match for Austrian cuisine, but also matches delicately with spicy far eastern dishes. Especially, we recommend this wine to starters, fried and Asian dishes.

The Winery

Weingut Stift Göttweig was founded in 1083 by Saint Altmann, the bishop of Passau, and was given over to the Benedictine Order in 1094. During the Dark Ages, the churches kept alive all sorts of knowledge that would otherwise have been lost (math, design, medicine...) and viticulture and winemaking included. Since that time, forestry and viticulture have formed the basis of the local economy, with the abbey always instrumental in the continuing development of wine production in the region.

Following a great fire that destroyed the old cloister in 1718, the baroque buildings were conceived by architect Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt. Particularly special points of interest here include the museum in the imperial wing, the imperial staircase – which rises beneath Paul Troger’s magnificent ceiling fresco painted in 1739 (whose distinctive colors and designs are replicated on the wine's capsule) – the imperial chamber, the princes’ rooms and the collegiate church with crypt and cloister.

The Benedictine abbey Stift Göttweig is situated on the eastern perimeter of Austria’s famous Wachau Valley, perched 449 meters above sea level on the southern bank of the Danube River, just across from the city of Krems. Because of its unique setting on the mountainside known as Göttweiger Berg, it is occasionally called the ‘Austrian Montecassino’.