Discover Austria’s real Kamptal on an e-bike wine tour!
Explore the hidden secrets of Austria’s Kamptal wine region - the ‘valley of fine dining and good living’ - on a guided e-bike tour!
The Heiligenstein, Kamptal - Source: Winekeller
Kamptal - the Kamp Valley - in Lower Austria, is named after the beautiful river Kamp which runs through it and into the Danube in the south. It is one of the most successful Austrian wine regions and at its heart, the wine metropolis of Langenlois is Austria’s largest wine-producing town. Not only is this a region of unparalleled wine culture, it’s a paradise for hikers, cyclists, garden and nature lovers and of course, foodies!
Kamptal is an Austrian wine region just waiting to be discovered - especially if you haven’t ventured beyond the famous Wachau in Lower Austria - and what better way to explore it than to let local experts take you on a journey of discovery by bike! We met up with Marcel from WineCycle Tours in Langenlois to find out more - read on below…!
Austria’s Kamptal wine region: an introduction
Austria’s Kamptal wine region may be less well-known than its world-famous Wachau neighbour, but its wines pack a serious punch and its natural beauty and wine culture make Kamptal an Austrian wine region you need to discover!
The Kamp river and the lush river valley is the lifeline of this beautiful, unspoiled region, with dark woods, rolling meadows, terraced vineyards and sheer cliffs and the famous wine town of Langenlois with its neighbouring villages Schönberg am Kamp, Zöbing, Gobelsburg, Straß im Straßer Tal and Lengenfeld form the centre of the winegrowing area.
Where is Kamptal Austria?
Source: ©AWMB (Austrian Wine Marketing Board)
Kamptal map
The Kamptal wine region in Lower Austria lies north-east of the Wachau and east of the Kremstal wine region. The region’s main town Langenlois is just ten minutes away from Krems, the gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Wachau and just under an hour away from Austria’s capital city, Vienna.
Kamptal lies in the Waldviertel region, in Lower Austria - and more specifically in the Kamp-Manhartsberg Valley.
Kamptal wines
With approximately 3,800 hectares of vineyards, internationally known top winemakers and some outstanding wines, Kamptal is one of the most successful winegrowing regions in Austria.
The Kamptal vineyards are mostly south-facing, planted in a variety of soils, but mostly loess. The landscapes are more rugged in the north of the region and softer in the south.
The temperatures here are slightly warmer than in the Wachau, but similar to its neighbour, the main wines are Grüner veltliner and Riesling. The influence of the Kamp river can bring cooler temperatures at night.
The Heiligenstein mountain ridge
A unique feature of the Kamptal region is the ‘Heiligenstein’, named after the very hot weather in this area. Here the soils have a higher mineral content and the steep, terraced vineyards on the southern slopes of this mountain ridge produce some superb Riesling wines, with great ageing potential. Further south towards the Danube, the soils have more loess content and produce some wonderful Grüner veltliner wines.
The Kamptal DAC
Since the 2008 vintage, the designation Kamptal DAC defines classic to middleweight style and ‘reserve’ Grüner veltliner and Riesling wines.
The Kamptal DAC uses the 3 tier ‘designation of origin’ system as follows:
Kamptal DAC Gebietswein - a ‘regional’ wine characterised by freshness and embracing the full diversity of the region (minimum alcohol 11.5%)
Kamptal DAC Ortswein - a ‘village’ wine, reflecting the diversity of the region and the characteristics of each separate municipality (minimum alcohol 12%)
Kamptal DAC Riedenwein - a ‘single vineyard/single cru’ wine, exhibiting distinctive personalities and expressing the individual character of each vineyard
Kamptal wine producers
Kamptal is home to several international, award-winning wine producers who harness the exceptional soils and terroir here to produce some stunning and world-famous wines. Top of this list is Willi Bründlmayer, Alwin Jurtschitsch and Fred Loimer in Langenlois, Johannes Hirsch in the village of Kammern and Lorenz Allram in Straß, who are all producing some stunning wines, mostly certified organic or biodynamic. There are many other smaller, boutique wineries, who are also producing some really excellent wines - see later!
WinEcycle Tours
We came across WinEcycle Tours whilst researching Austria’s Kamptal region and were immediately interested in finding out more about what they offer to wine tourists keen to discover Kamptal.
Meeting Marcel from WinEcycle Tours
On a recent visit to the region we were fortunate to meet up with WinEcycle Tours founder, Marcel Gillinger, who gave us an insight into what they offer and took us on a typical tour route, introducing us to a Kamptal partner producer (see later).
About WinEcycle Tours
Through our chat with Marcel we discovered that WinEcycle Tours is passionate about quite a few things, namely: sustainable and environmentally-friendly wine tourism; helping people to discover the authentic Kamptal and its ‘secret and special places’ that you would not normally find from a guide book as well as giving back to the community and mutually supporting other like-minded businesses in Kamptal.
Their motto is ‘slow genießen, easy radeln’ - or ‘enjoy slowly, easy cycling’ - this reflects the approach to WinEcycle e-bike tours, where the emphasis is on slowing down, looking around you, immersing yourself in the landscapes, culture, traditions and switching off from the pressures and pace of every-day life. What’s not to like about that????
WinEcycle Tours is based in the old mediaeval town of Langenlois, in the Kornplatz - the beautiful square at the heart of the town - and close to the railway station too.
WinEcycle partners and sponsors
WinEcycle partners with specialist producers, with a similar focus on sustainability, including wineries, honey, chutney and cheese makers and includes visits as part of the e-bike tours. This is great for the producers, but it also means people like you and I get to see the real Kamptal, its traditions and to taste the wonderful local produce.
WinEcycle also enjoys sponsorship from some of the region's larger businesses whose name is promoted on each of the e-bikes - brilliant!
WinEcycle e-bikes
WinEcycle has 12 e-bikes and a typical tour group size is anything from 3-12 people. The bikes are made by Austrian company My Esel and with their distinctive frames, they’re are stylish and high-performance and sustainable too!
The different WinEcycle tours on offer
Marcel and his fellow tour guides take guided tours across Kamptal and also neighbouring Kremstal. You can choose to participate in a ‘vineyard tour’, which lasts about 2 hours, features a visit and wine tasting at a local vineyard and about 12 km of cycling through the beautiful countryside, off the beaten track. The Kamptal ‘Genuss tour’ lasts about 4 hours, with 3 different visits included and covers approximately 35 km.
WinEcycle Tours can also plan a bespoke, private group tour for you.
Our WinEcycle tour
Unfortunately we weren’t able to go out on a tour with Marcel as the weather was awful on the day we met up, but Marcel took us out to see a few things by car, which gave us a great insight into the e-bike tours!
Heiligenstein vineyards
On leaving Langenlois the WinEcycle office in Langenlois, we headed straight to the Heiligenstein mountain ridge, with its world-famous vineyards and incredible views over Kamptal. Marcel took us to a superb view-point which he includes on the tours and where he often conducts special wine-tastings - such a beautiful and special spot!
The weather didn’t spoil the views from the Heiligenstein
Visit to Weinmanufaktur Kreuzhuber
From here we went on to the village of Hadersdorf am Kamp and to a small, family winery called ‘Weinmanufaktur Kreuzhuber’. What a revelation!
The Kreuzhuber family is a superb example of the Kamptal wine region - a family-run winery, 100% biodynamic, passionate about nature and the environment and producing some excellent wines! We loved our wine tasting down in the cellar and purchased a few bottles to bring home with us.
After our wine tasting we then went on to enjoy some honey tasting and got to see the beehives and learn about the process of making honey!
This reminded us that although it’s great to visit the top, world-famous wineries in a wine region, you only really get that immersive experience by also spending time with a region’s smaller wine producers.
We loved our time with Marcel and WinEcycle Tours and really support what they’re doing here. It feels so honest and authentic and Marcel’s passion for Kamptal really shines through. I loved a comment Marcel made - ‘we want people to end their tour with us having a low e-bike battery, but a full ‘personal’ battery’....we didn’t do an actual bike tour, but our experience and time with winEcycle Tours certainly topped up our personal batteries!
We encourage you to find out more WinEcycle Tours and to consider discovering the real Kamptal on one of their e-bike tours!
Additional useful information about exploring the Kamptal wine region
We suggest you stay in beautiful Langenlois and use this as your base for exploring Kamptal.
Langenlois Wine tourism
As we’ve said earlier, Langenlois has a rich wine culture and heritage and is the largest wine-producing town in Austria - so there’s lots to do here! Here’s a few ‘must-dos’:
Visit the LOISIUM WeinWelt (World of Wine)
A must-visit for wine lovers - the LOISIUM World of Wine museum delivering a great wine experience, including down in the 1.5 km network of cellars. The museum is part of the LOISIUM Wine & Spa Hotel Resort and it also has a great restaurant with an incredible wine list!
Taste Kamptal wines in the Ursin Haus vinothek
Ursin Haus in the centre of Langenlois is the place to visit to taste about 300 different wines from some 60 Kamptal wine producers. It’s the official regional wine shop, prices are the same as at the winery and they also offer excellent tourism information and advice.
Walk the Langenlois wine path
Get your walking boots on and walk the 6 km Langenlois Weinweg to learn all about Kamptal, its winemakers and its wines!
Visit Schloss Gobelsburg
Visit Gobelsburg just outside of Langenlois, with its spectacular castle and ancient wine history. Schloss Gobelsburg is the oldest winery in the Danube area but is also today one of the most modern, with an excellent reputation for its wines - and a great place to visit (voted no. 84 in the World’s Best Vineyards, 2023)!
Walk round the town and spend time enjoying the local food and wine in one of the wine taverns, or ‘Heurigen’!
Schloss Gobelsburg, Kamptal
Enjoy the outdoors in Langenlois
There are lots of opportunities for walking, hiking, cycling and more in Langenlois - see here for inspiration!
Langenlois gardens and garden art
If you’re a lover of gardens, then Langenlois is for you! You can enjoy a huge variety of magnificent gardens - the most popular being the Kittenberger Adventure Gardens in Schiltern, with over 50 different themed gardens.
Where to stay in Langenlois
Here are some ideas for where to stay and where to eat in Langenlois - an essential part of getting to know Kamptal!
Conclusion - our personal highlights
We had a wonderful time in Kamptal and plan to go back to explore some more! We were incredibly impressed by Marcel and WinEcycle Tours and love what they’re doing! Their passion for Kamptal, for the local producers and for the environment is infectious - we can highly recommend! We think it offers a really fun, immersive and totally authentic to explore this beautiful Austrian wine region!
