Page 88 - Travel + Leisure India & South Asia (January 2020)

R OYA LT Y
WINE AS OLD AS TIME
Liechtenstein may be the world’s smallest wine-producing country, but its wine heritage is two millennia old.
NEETA LAL gets a taste of the region’s royal produce in the winery of Prince Hans-Adam II.
T he sky is cloudless and azure, the sun smearing its
expansive canvas with a buttery goldenness. Orchards
and vineyards in shades of green—from moss to
forest—fan out like lush carpets across the bucolic Alpine
landscape. The air smells so sweet I can almost taste it.
I’m at the Hofkellerei des Fursten von Liechtenstein, a
lush 10-acre cellar and vineyard in the heart of Vaduz, the
capital city of Liechtenstein. The landlocked Alpine country—
Nestling in the
Upper Rhine wedged between Switzerland and Austria—is just 160 square
Valley of the kilometres and hosts 35,000 residents, making it the
Swiss Alps, world’s sixth tiniest nation.
Liechtenstein is
all of 160 square Pretty much like the unique country, Hofkellerei is no
kilometres. ordinary vineyard. Its owner is the reigning prince of
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Liechtenstein, Prince Hans-Adam II, who
lives in a Disney-esque Gothic castle perched
atop a hill overlooking Vaduz. The winery
and its restaurant have been in royal hands
since the current prince’s ancestor, Prince
Johann Adam, first acquired the county of
Vaduz in 1712.
The establishment’s regal ownership
notwithstanding, it exudes an informal aura,
and is serviced by a friendly and informed
staff. Visitors can simply stroll in to sample KEREN SU/GETTYIMAGES
its bacchanalian delights from Monday to
Saturday, during working hours.