Silver Travel Wine Club

October 2023: Spotlight on Wachau Valley

Please note: this prize draw is now closed.

This month’s Wine Club, in partnership with AmaWaterways, heads to Austria’s Wachau Valley.

Read on to find out more.

Brilliant architectural masterpieces and vine-strung hillsides on the Upper Danube River have inspired artistic creations for hundreds of years. Among others, AmaWaterways’ signature itineraries journey through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary, enabling guests to experience some of the most celebrated wines and sights in the heartland of Europe.

Austria’s Wachau Valley has gained worldwide recognition for its Grüner Veltliner white grape variety. Planted throughout Austria’s vineyards, those coveted vines bring yellow-green berries to fruition. These wines achieve many levels of quality and taste, ranging from acidic and zesty in their youth to complex and nutty as they age. One thing that these varieties have in common is their ability to complement meals.

Boasting peach and green apple aromas, the Rieslings of Austria are often dry and crisp. With a perfect climate, these wines develop to full ripeness and are world-renowned among white wines.

See for yourself

Join an unforgettable AmaWaterways Wine Cruise and delight in one of the world’s most perfect trifectas: travel, wine, and elegant cuisine.

Each of their Celebration of Wine River Cruises is hosted by an enthusiastic wine professional who leads you through tastings and interactive discussions, accompanies you on select shore excursions to vineyards and cellars, and helps curate a special food and wine pairing dinner on board.

Romantic Danube

Those longing for the romance of Old-World Europe will get to travel into the very heart of the continent, where empires were built, kings and queens were crowned and some of the world’s greatest music was composed and performed by the likes of Mozart and Beethoven. Grand European cities like Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest forever remain timeless. Admire the beauty of Salzburg or the Czech Republic’s charming mountain town, Český Krumlov. From grand abbeys and fortresses perched high above the Danube to plentiful iconic UNESCO World Heritage Sites, be romanced by the Danube with all her regal and romantic splendour.

Itinerary:

  • Day 1: Vilshofen – Embarkation
  • Day 2: Vilshofen – Passau
  • Day 3: Linz
  • Day 4: Wachau Valley – Weissenkirchen
  • Day 5: Weissenkirchen – Krems
  • Day 6: Vienna
  • Day 7: Budapest – Estergom
  • Day 8: Budapest – Disembarkation

7 nights from £2,273pp departing on 18 November 2024

Click to find out more.

If you would like a quote or to book, call Silver Travel Advisor on 0800 412 5678.


Win a case of Wachau Valley wine

Comment below and tell us where you would most like to drink a bottle of Wachau Valley wine, and why.

A winner will be chosen in early November 2023.
The competition closes on 31 October 2023.

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76 Responses

  1. Having just returned from a sunny September trip to dark nights and autumnal chills, I’d settle for anywhere with great weather and long nights.

  2. I would love to drink a bottle of Wachau Valley wine in Vienna. Although I have visited the city I didn’t manage to go in the Opera house. I watch the Vienna concert every New year & always wanted to visit (would to attend the concert one day) x

  3. We love lakes and mountains with the wonderful scenery it offers,not been on a river cruise, but a bit too early to commit to booking for November 24. Not tried Austrian wine , so would like the chance to do so.

  4. On a boat on the Danube, listening to Beethoven and drinking and enjoying,the ambiance,colour and smell of a bottle of Wachau Valley wine,Heaven.

  5. Budapest would be ideal to enjoy the wine amongst wonderful architecture, friendly folk, and great scenery. Cheers.

  6. Vienna would be a great place to sample Wachau Valley wine as I have never visited Austria and would love to experience the culture and the history.

  7. Used to live in Vienna and remember drinking Grüner Veltliner in the heurigers of Grinzing. Lovely memories.

  8. What a wonderful itinerary visiting such beautiful places all whilst sipping on delicious wine .

  9. Sat by the river Danube in Vienna watching the world go by. Its a dream on my bucket list.

  10. Great wine, superior to most German equivalents. I can imagine sitting by the Danube in Melk sipping a glass (or two) of chilled Gruner Veltliner and watching the river traffic slip by. Heaven!

  11. No better place to experience it than on the banks of the Danube alongside the vineyard which produces it – heaven!

  12. In my newly re-furbished country cottage near the Lincolnshire Wolds…a little piece of heaven at home.

  13. I cannot imagine a better place to sample Wachau Valley wine than in one of the vineyards, sitting in the sunshine on a warm day in the company of my lovely wife, who has put up with me for 59 years.

  14. I would most like to enjoy a bottle of Wachau Valley wine with my ex neighbour and long time friend,Edith.She is Viennese by birth and has lived in England for many years.Sadly her dear husband passed away at New Year,her family live a long way away…one daughter is in New Zealand,and the other two not quite so far away,but still a long way off.Poor Edith has felt totally bereft since the death of Andy and similarly I have been experiencing the same sense of loss since my own husband passed away in March.
    A trip to Vienna with Edith to enjoy the Wachau Valley wine and to remember good times would be just what the doctor ordered!

  15. Vienna – the most beautiful city, an array of beautiful Castles and old buildings and and a center from which to travel around in the day and wine and music in the evenings. What more could we wish for.

  16. Dachberg for the panoramic views of the Danube and the surrounding area. Amazing and romantic.

  17. I’d like to drink Wachau Valley wine in the Wachau Valley Vineyard as that would mean I would also be on holiday, however, I’m very good at playing “let’s pretend” (ask my grandkids!), so am sure I’d enjoy it just as much at home in my lovely garden, with my feet up, a good book and a few nibbles to hand – bliss!

  18. Sat on the terrace of the hotel in Arzl In the Tyrol where I spent many happy holidays in the 60s with my parents.

  19. In a Wachau Valley vineyard to savour the wine and see where the grapes are actually grown.

  20. I’d like to drink the wine at a castle in Germany which is on a hill above a river. I don’t know what it’s called, but my friend of more than fifty years painted it as a schoolgirl and to this day, I am still in awe of her talent.

  21. Gently cruising on the Danube, with my wife on the balcony while the setting sun paints the magical city of Budapest with rich golden hues. We chink our glasses of crips,clear riesling together and toast the moment with the best wine in the world.

  22. We have recently returned from a Danube cruise and tasted wine when we stopped off in various places. It was delicious and would very much like to taste and enjoy more of it.

  23. Sitting on my yacht ,watching the sun go down over the beautiful sea(I wish I had a yacht!!)

  24. What could be better than sailing slowly down the Danube, through the Wachau valley in Austria on a late summer evening? I imagine passing through glorious scenery with vineyards galore, as well as those picturesque villages and medieval castles.
    This is where I would most like to drink a bottle of Wachau Valley wine, on the deck of our boat at 6pm, sharing tales with fellow travellers of our day’s adventures.

  25. Nothing could beat , sitting with friends and the sun drops at a small bar or restaurant overlooking the Danube , glass of Veltliner under the shade of the castle ruins . Just looking forward to more good times shared and reminisce of the days just gone , share laughs food and wine .

  26. Nothing could beat , sitting with friends and the sun drops at a small bar or restaurant overlooking the Danube in Durnstein , glass of Veltliner under the shade of the castle ruins . Just looking forward to more good times shared and reminisce of the days just gone , share laughs food and wine .

  27. I have never visited the Wachau and know little of Austrian wines. Thusly this would be my big chance to remedy my ignorance.It all sounds quite splendid and I can’t wait to go! I would of course like to drink a bottle (or two!) of Wachau wine whilst drifting down the Danube en route to Vienna.

  28. I would love to revisit Passau and drink a glass(or two!) of Wachau Valley wine there.

  29. Sitting on the beach, with friends & family, watching the sun go down over the River Exe. Only 2 minutes from my house. That would be just lovely

  30. I would like to drink the wine on beach with my husband to rekindle the love we once had.

  31. In the Wachau Valley vineyard with the producers and a platter of local charcuterie – bliss!

  32. I love Austria and have heard their wines are crisp and refreshing but have never tried them.

  33. I would love to drink the wine at my daughter’s 60 birthday celebration. She’s kind loving caring fun a d compassionate. She’s also very intelligent and uses this for her own pastimes and enjoys the company of like minded people

  34. Seeing as the question is ” tell us where you would most like to drink a bottle of Wachau Valley wine, and why.”, if I’m to drink a whole bottle , I suppose that I’d better drink it in bed, where I could just pass out and cause the least amount of bother and embarrassment!

  35. I would most like to drink a bottle of Wachau Valley at the Vineyard, to experience the full terroir.

  36. Would love to sip the wine in. Budapest missed the chance of going there as a teenager now a. Pensioner

  37. Would love to drink wine where it is made. We have see the Tyrol and that is stunning but would love to see more of Austria.

  38. Ideally on an Ama Waterways cruise ship meandering through the fabulous Wachau Valley itself! But, failing that, I’d settle for enjoying my Wachau valley “Wein” in the comfort of my own home, watching the Vienna New Year’s Concert on TV on 1st January 2024! Who knows, they might even play the “Wine, Women and Song” Waltz!

  39. The romance of the regions along with our love of the classics would leave us Spell Bound with lasting memories with the lingering taste of Gruner Vetliner Wachau Valley Wine

  40. Vienna it is so beautiful ,The city of dreams, would love to have a Wiener Schnitzel dinner in one of their romantic restaurants

  41. To be able to taste Wachau Valley wine would set my taste buds on a journey in my imagination through the rolling hills and vineyards into the rich magical baroque history of the valley and flavours of the land

  42. In the new house we HOPE to move to…. Alas, when people pull out of the ‘chain’ our hopes of ever moving come crashing down again…. Either we celebrate the move or we drown our sorrows….

    1. Looking out from the Castle of Obidos in Portugal. Great wine in a great location. Perfect to watch the world go by.

  43. On the peak of Harschbichl in the Wilder Kasier Mountains – because it gives you a Tyrolean view of heaven.

  44. Although we have been to Austria we have never been to the Wachau Valley so what better place to enjoy it’s produce than in the beautiful mountains of Austria. If we couldn’t get there then our own garden with our amazing family would work just as well!!

  45. I would love to experience Wachau Valley wine on an AmaWaterways Celebration of Wine River Cruise, in the company of a knowledgeable expert and fellow wine enthusiasts. What a perfect combination: the romance of the Danube, good travel companions, wine and elegant cuisine.

  46. In Linz, because some very old family friends live not too far away. We see them very infrequently, so it would be lovely to celebrate a reunion with them in a shady riverside restaurant

  47. Having read about the AmaWaterways wine river cruises I think the top deck of one of ships would be a perfect place to appreciate a bottle of Wachau Valley wine while watching the scenery drift by. We already love river cruising so that we be a great combination.

  48. I would take a picnic to Stadtpark in central Vienna, sit in the shade of the golden Johann Strauss monument and enjoy a glass of delicious Austrian wine.

  49. I would like to share a bottle of Wachau Valley wine sat on the beach down in Dorset looking over to the Purbeck Hills to the west and The Isle of Wight to the east. Thankyou.

Comments are closed.

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