Vienna is the only city of over a million people with significant winegrowing within its city limits. In September and October, when the Sturm is fresh in the barrel, the city shows its most relaxed side.
Vienna is the only city in the world with more than a million inhabitants that has significant winegrowing within its city limits. Around 600 hectares of vineyards, right inside the municipal boundaries and reachable by tram. And in September and October, when the harvest is underway and the Sturm (partially fermented young wine) is fresh in the barrel, the city shows its most relaxed side.
If you do just one thing in Vienna that isn't a sight, go to a Heuriger (wine tavern).
What a Heuriger Actually Is
Originally, a Heuriger isn't a restaurant but a right. Winegrowers are allowed to serve their own wine on their premises without a restaurant license, but only for limited periods. A Buschen (a bundle of pine branches) above the door shows that the place is "ausg'steckt", in other words open.
This leads to a few quirks that surprise first-time visitors:
- At a real Heuriger there are no waiters. You fetch your food yourself from the Budel (the counter), usually priced by weight.
- The food is cold. Spreads, ham, bacon, Blunzn (blood sausage), Liptauer (a spicy cheese spread), pickled vegetables and bread. Hot food is only served at a Gasthaus-Heuriger, a Heuriger that also runs a full kitchen.
- The wine comes from the owner's own vineyard. That's why the list is short: Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Gemischter Satz and a little red.
Wiener Gemischter Satz is the local specialty: different grape varieties grow mixed together in the vineyard and are harvested and pressed together. It has been protected as a DAC (Austria's designation of origin) since 2013 and tastes a little different almost everywhere.
Sturm: Why Now Is the Best Time
Sturm is fermenting grape must, somewhere between juice and wine. It's cloudy, sweetish and slightly fizzy, and depending on how far fermentation has gone, it has between 4 and 10 percent alcohol. Because it keeps fermenting, it hardly travels and practically can't be stored. That's why you only find it where it's made, and only for a few weeks a year.
The season runs roughly from late August to late October, peaking in September. If you're in Vienna during those weeks, that's a good reason not to put the trip off until your next visit.
A warning: Sturm goes down like juice and hits like wine. Two glasses are more than they feel like.
The Three Heuriger Areas
Grinzing: The Best Known
The postcard Grinzing, with cobblestone lanes and old winegrowers' houses. It's busy accordingly and partly geared toward tour bus groups, but the criticism is exaggerated. Step off the main street and you'll still find very good places.
The best known is Heuriger Mayer am Pfarrplatz, in the house where Beethoven spent the summer of 1817. That he's supposed to have worked on his Ninth Symphony there is a well-told legend; the house is real all the same, and the wine is good. Just around the corner is the Beethoven Museum on Probusgasse, if you'd like to combine your visit with a bit of culture.
Getting there: Tram 38 from Schottentor to the last stop.
Nussdorf and Kahlenbergerdorf: The Quieter Ones
Just as pretty, with far fewer people. You can reach Nussdorf on tram D to the last stop. From there, paths lead straight into the vineyards on the Nussberg, with what may be the best view over the city you can have while drinking wine.
Neustift am Walde and Stammersdorf: The Ones for Locals
Neustift lies on the edge of the woods in the 19th district (Döbling), Stammersdorf on the other side of the Danube in the 21st district (Floridsdorf). You'll hardly see any tourists here. If you want to know how a Heuriger works without an audience, go to Stammersdorf: tram 31 will take you there.
Wine Hiking: From Grinzing to Nussdorf
The nicest way to combine all this is on foot. The route over the Nussberg takes two to four hours, depending on your pace and how many stops you make along the way.
- Take tram 38 to Grinzing
- Head up Cobenzlgasse into the vineyards
- Walk along the Nussberg, home to the Buschenschanken (winegrowers' taverns) with panoramic views over the Danube and the city
- Descend to Nussdorf and head back on tram D
You don't need hiking boots; sneakers are fine. What you do need: cash. Many Buschenschanken still don't take cards.
If you'd rather stay up high: from the Kahlenberg you get the classic view of Vienna, and the path down toward Nussdorf also leads through the vineyards.
What an Evening Costs
A Viertel (a quarter liter) of wine usually costs between €4 and €6, and a Krügel (mug) of Sturm about the same. You pay for food by weight: for a decent plate from the buffet, expect €8 to €15. An evening at a Heuriger for two, with food and three Viertel each, usually comes to between €50 and €70. That's inexpensive by Viennese standards.
A Few Rules Nobody Writes Down
- Tables are shared. If there's space, ask briefly and sit down. That's normal and not rude.
- Reservations are unusual at a classic Buschenschank, but possible at the larger places in Grinzing and advisable on weekends.
- A Gespritzter is nothing to be ashamed of. Wine mixed with soda water is a drink in its own right in Vienna, not a makeshift.
- Don't drive. This isn't a lecture, just practical: public transport runs until late, and the paths through the vineyards are part of the fun.
And in Winter?
The season doesn't end with fall. Many places stay open year-round, just in the cozy parlor instead of the garden. From mid-November, the Junger Wiener, the first finished wine of the vintage, is served. And if you come back in spring, you'll see the vineyards green instead of golden. But fall remains the season all this is made for.
