Vienna 1st District, Inner City
Ruth, Sylvia and I have planned a girl’s night out in Vienna. You are welcome to join us, but beware! We are going to skip the city’s high brow restaurants AND the heurigers – we’re looking for chic, upbeat excitement. There is no better place to get an overview of Austria’s dynamic, trendy wine scene than at the wine bars of Vienna!
Sylvia and Ruth of Havel&Petz show Julia the Wine bars of Vienna.
Vienna is a wine city. It is the only world capital with significant wine growing and production within city limits. Cosy, romantic wine taverns called Heurigen located in the vineyards on the outskirts of the city have been a place where the Viennese relax over a glass of wine ever since the late 18th century. As an important cultural center of Europe, Vienna has also always had superb restaurants with excellent wine lists. Lesser known by visitors are the city’s wine bars – both fashionable and classic. I invite you to join me with my young, stylish Viennese friends as we swirl, sniff, and sip Austrian wine in long-stemmed Riedels as we cruise the wine bar scene of Vienna.
“Vienna is divided geographically like a pie,” explains Sylvia. “At the centre of the pie, is the cherry – St. Stephan’s Cathedral. Around the cherry you find impressive examples of several historic architectural styles and flagship shops of top European designers. But this is a vibrant, living city and amongst all the grandness, you’ll also find quirky family hotels, artisan boutiques, eccentric art galleries, and most interesting for us tonight – plenty of fantastic wine bars!”
Ruth laughs, “There is no way we can visit all the wine bars of Vienna in one night! Let’s hit as many as we can here in the inner city district tonight and then outside the ‘Ring’ tomorrow. We’ll start with Vienna’s first modern-day wine bar, Vis-à-vis.” Ruth and Sylvia are known as well-organized hedonists; they are gourmet event managers here in Vienna. I’m more than happy to let them lead me to their favourite hotspots in the city. Without them, I probably would have just walked by the small door to this tiny, unpretentious bar which has become a long-established favourite with locals. The money saved on interior decoration was invested in top Austrian glassware. Hans Weibel, the proprietor, is one of the best sources for discovering new, talented Austrian vintners and insider gossip about the Austrian wine branch. We begin our excursion with a rare specialty from Schloss Gobelsburg in Kamptal. The estate is best known internationally for its outstanding Riesling and Grüner Veltliner, but the Brut Reserve sparkling wine is equally superb. The blend of Pinot Noir, Grüner Veltliner and Riesling makes this creamy bubbly a refreshing and pleasantly exotic interpretation of an international classic. Cheers!
Maitré Johann Georg Gensbichler (c)Zum schwarzen Kameel
“No visit to Vienna without the Camel!” exclaims Sylvia. Zum schwarzen Kameel was originally established as a spice shop in 1618 by Johan Baptiste Cameel. It expanded 200 years later to include wines and a delicatessen and has been one of the city’s best places to enjoy a glass of wine for the last century. The bar still wears its well-groomed art nouveau attire from the renovations of 1901 and in an atmosphere that celebrates the old Viennese style to the hilt, you can enjoy modern versions of local classics at very reasonable prices. An eccentric-looking waiter sporting Emperor Franz-Josef style side burns with fluffy little tufts on his cheeks approaches us and in very Habsburger German suggests the traditional expression of a Grüner Veltliner in a lighter style from Markus Huber in Traisental served together with a ham canapé garnished with freshly grated horseradish. How can we resist? Despite their simplicity, even the lightest Grüner Veltliners seem to have no problems with assertive herbs, vegetables, and spices.
At the Stephansplatz Wein & Co Bar, it is quite apparent that wine is not a drink for fuddy-duddies. Vienna’s inner city is a melting pot of young international professionals that love to come here after a day at the office. The food here is light and creative and if you don’t mind eating while rubbing elbows with the next table, you’ll probably enjoy all the boisterous conversation. “I adore St. Laurent,” exclaims Sylvia. The dark handsome stranger next to her voices his agreement, “It’s an indigenous Austrian variety and if I were to explain to a foreigner what it tastes like, I’d tell them it has the silky, satiny mouthfeel of Pinot Noir, but the floral spice and robustness of Syrah.” Our conversation continues over sautéed octopus with red wine shallots and fresh thyme perfectly paired with Johanneshof-Reinisch estate’s spicy, floral St. Laurent Reserve from the calcareous gravelly Frauenfeld vineyard in Thermenregion.
Promenading a few houses further along the very chic “Graben” a stone’s throw from the stunning St. Stephan’s cathedral, we engage in animated debate about the world’s most exclusive gourmet shops. Ruth exudes, “Move over Fouchon! Meinl am Graben is THE address for ‘experience’ grocery shopping. Their expansive selection of deli meats and international cheeses, sushi, salad, pasta, and pastries can’t be topped!” The restaurant upstairs is quite recommendable, but we go (where else?) in the wine cellar – Meinl’s Weinbar! Its a rare evening that you don’t meet one of Austria’s top wine growers here We’ve just missed Roman Horvath MW and Heinz Frischengruber, but the sommelier tells us that the dynamic duo has left a bottle of nicely matured Wachauer Riesling that is currently showing superbly. “I am really excited about the Domäne Wachau’s single-vineyard bottlings. Because Federspiel is less opulent than Smaragd, these well-balanced, medium-bodied examples often don’t get the fanfare they deserve. Just try this Riesling from Loibenberg and you’ll see what I mean.” Indeed the wine has a pronounced peach and floral fragrance and is crisp and wonderfully delineated on the palate. The finish is long and packed with flinty minerals.
Although the interior of Sacher Eck’ continues the traditional Viennese imperial style of the famous Hotel Sacher and its café and restaurant, it is infinitely less formal. The prices are stiff, but the quality is high. The goose liver torte with brioche served with Feiler-Artinger’s prized Pinot Cuvée Ruster Ausbruch will make heaven sigh. Austria’s botrytized sweet wines are yet another great gift to gourmets. Noble rot, a desirable fungus, attacks grapes growing around the large shallow Lake Neusiedl and shrivels them, concentrating their sugar and flavours. The luscious sweet wines made from the potent juice of these grapes retain a zingy vibrant acidity that balances layers and layers of complex flavours. Pure hedonistic glee!
Ruth, Sylvia and I decide that we have had a good view of inner-city glamour and are ready again for something a bit more casual. Sylvia suggests Unger & Klein saying, “Its bottle shop turned wine bar that has the feel of a well-worn favourite pair of blue jeans. If you don’t mind that smoking is allowed, you’ll appreciate the aesthetic aspects of the bar.” The place is packed with no-nonsense wine aficionados snacking on Italian antipasti, pannini, or a tasty selection of cheeses. The stunning designer shelving is simultaneously the wine list and menu, inviting to browse and mingle with other like-minded hedonists. “There are wines that are good and there are wines that are great. With what shall we bring our eveningt o a close?” We decide to splurge on a mature vintage of the Krutzler Blaufränkisch Reserve from the slopes of the Eisenberg in Südburgenland. Ruth states, “I think that Blaufränkisch is the Austrian red wine variety most capable of aging and it certainly can express its terroir. Examples from the Leithaberg on the west side of Lake Neusiedl come either from marine limestone or gneiss and mica-slate. Blaufränkisch from calcareous soils are bright and have a lemony acid. Blaufränkisch from the slate soils have a darker, minerally spice. The same variety from Mittelburgenland is open-hearted and fruity. And from Eisenberg in Südburgenland, the Blaufränkisch exudes wild, untamed charm, exotic dark berries and spice.”
It is way past midnight and we’ve accepted that our list of wine bars in Vienna’s inner city was much too ambitious for one night. The Tinto Rosso is a cosy, romantic place with a good selection of wines and a pleasant atmosphere with Mediterranean flair. Harry’s Time is the new trendy place in town. Christian Petz, one of the city’s very best chefs has taken over the Badeschiff on the Danube channel. The ship’s restaurant is very casual and the wine list is not large, but it’s got a couple of very good positions. The appeal is the extraordinary food and top notch sommeliers combined with simple maritime flair and very fair prices. Unusual for Vienna is that bringing your own bottle truly is welcomed. Cork fee is €14.
Tomorrow we shall explore the wine bars outside the “Ringstrasse” surrounding the inner city, but still within the “Gürtel”. These establishments stretch between the theatres and the market and offer just as much diversity and style as those within the inner city. Please join our adventure again tomorrow!