Loisium Wine & Spa Resort Langelois

The cultivation of vineyards

Wine growing in Austria is an ancient activity going back to the 9^th century B.C. Unknown to the general public for a long time, Austrian white wines over the past thirty years, have taken their place among the world’s finest wines. Seventy kilometres north of Vienna, the vineyards stretch over the hills of the region’s primary producers such as Lower Austria, the Burgenland and the Styrie. The typical grape varieties of the Kamptal Valley in the Lower Austria region are the Grüner Veltiner and the Riesling both of which dominate the region’s entire wine growing production. Delicate and elegant with fine fruity aromas, these wines, very popular in the Vienna area, go extremely well with shellfish and fresh water fish. In order to preserve this priceless wealth, the Austrian government has established protected zones at several sites in the region. In the year 2000, the Wachau valley in Lower Austria was classified a world heritage by UNESCO.

A vintage hotel

In the Kamptal Valley, an important wine growing region of Lower Austria, the kilometres of vines of the commune of Langenlois face the banks of the Danube. The only indication of this constant wine growing activity is a cube of aluminium and glass on the side of the hill in the center of the vines. Paying tribute to a thousand year old tradition, New York architect Steven Holl designed a hotel as a metaphor of the vine and its end product. Green, yellow and red tones following the different colors of the grape, large bay windows overlooking the vineyards, fabrics and furniture inspired by wine cellars from floor to ceiling, the theme of wine is omnipresent, including in the 1000 square meter spa, fitness center and its twenty meter long heated outdoor pool, where the anti-oxydant virtues of the polyphenols present in wine are part of the wine therapy employed. A variety of treatments using the grape in all its forms is available including warm water baths with wine extracts, envelopment in wine yeast, and moisturizing the body with wine seed oil…in moderation, of course. Taking advantage of the subterranean cellars linking the hotel with Langenlois, the American architect created an authentic wine museum where the visitor can discover the different steps in the wine making process.

Awarded the prestigious Alvar Alto medal in 1998, Steven Holl developed a “phenomenological” approach to architecture, and demonstrates in each of his projects, a strong physical involvement with the environment.