The Romans in Vienna: Cultivation of wine and prohibition of export

The history of the Viennese wine and the wine bars called Heurigen begins with the grape. The first picture of a grape originates from Egypt about 2000 post Christ. Also in Assyria wine was grown, phenecian merchants brought the wine to Greece. In Central Europe the Celts already grew wine.

100 post Christ Romans founded a military camp named Vindobona, which comes from the Celtic word for 'white river'. Vienna (germ. Wien) got the name from the Celtic 'Wenia', which means torrent.

The wine grown in Vienna had inferior quality. It was grown despite a prohibition of export by Kaiser Domitian to protect Roman winegrowers and poured out to Roman soldiers. The Roman soldiers had a right to a daily wine. Marcus Aurelius Probus ended this prohibition. Probus patronized the wine-growing by importing Roman grapes and let legionaires build vineyards. The men wanted to fight rather than to work hard at the wine-growing, 282 after 6 years empire they killed Probus.

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All articles to this subject
Wine by the ancient Romans
First Heurige in Vienna
The Buschenschank: Traditional Vienna winerestaurant
Drinking wine in the underground
Anecdotes and stories to Vienna wine
Siege by Turks 1529 and 1683
High taxes on wine
Wine in the 18th century
With the coach to Heuriger
Winecellars in Vienna
Sorts of wine in Austria

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