Austria is the only place in the world that produces award winning sweet wines in a national park! Participate in a bird-watching tour of Seewinkel National Park by foot, canoe, or solar boat and then rejuvenate in the Presshaus restaurant in Illmitz with a glass of lusciously sweet “Trockenbeerenauslese” with Kaiserschmarrn (Imperial Pancake) or with a selection of local cheeses.
Birdwatching and wine production go hand in hand in Seewinkel.
The Seewinkel National Park is located in a bend on the east side of the shallow 320 km² Lake Neusiedl in
Burgenland.
The lake’s reed belt and the numerous saline ponds in the lake bend (Seewinkel) provide a habitat for unique flora and fauna which live symbiotically with grapevines. The warm, humid microclimate provides the ideal preconditions for noble rot, a desirable fungus that shrivels grapes, concentrating their sugars and flavors. Unlike any other wine region in the world where noble rot appears, the Trockenbeerenauslese of the Seewinkel can be made from numerous different indigenous and international grape varieties.
Honey-drizzled tropical fruit and spice flavor the unctuous texture of these wines, which can age for decades. The integration of a cultivated landscape and a unique and complex eco-system have made this region part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.