Tidings Magazine

In fact, no other city celebrates wine in quite the same way as Vienna, which boasts a thriving assortment of wine bars. They range from urban variations on the traditional Heuriger to sleek, multi-choice modernists like Wein & Co (www.weinco.at), which runs a trio of several successful side-by-side wine bars and wine stores, one almost in the shadow of St Stephan’s. On weeknights the place is usually packed with a smartly dressed crowd ordering their latest passion from a list of some fifty or so wines by the glass. Or, if they don’t see what they want, they can wander next door and pick up something else, come back, pay a couple of Euros for corkage while the staff happily pours it for them into premium crystal stemware.

Mosey on a little further and you might come across Weinorgel (www.weinorgel.at), where the wines are less highbrow but the pours more generous — and the atmosphere decidedly laid back.

Weinorgel is just that: a Lilliputian low-dome-ceiling space where the principal player (next to a good list of wines by the glass) is an antique pipe organ, or at least its surviving pipes and the faded painted mahogany backdrop of old Vienna. The place is a hoot in more ways than one: the pipes now do stellar duty as a glass rack but also get an occasional chance to strut their stuff between an eclectic music mix: everything from Abba to Basin Street Blues; the food is simple — uncooked plates of prosciutto, olives and cheese. No kitchen necessary.

The place bubbles, thanks to a couple of enthusiastic bartenders who greet regulars (after-work types) and visitors with equal aplomb while busily pulling corks. It’s all very Vienna, a comfortable fit of old and new — although there likely aren’t too many places in this well-dressed and finely mannered town where you are actually encouraged to dump your peanut shells on the floor. I taste my way through a respectable, fresh-tasting Topf Grüner, a clean-fruited Janek Federspiel Riesling and a medium-bodied Hillinger Blaufrankisch between nibbles of Schinkenspeck sliced right at the bar.

A ten-minute walk west, the diminutive Eulennest (www.eulennest.at) combines wine store and restaurant, with another good selection much appreciated by a crowd that runs from tourists to pin-striped merchant bankers.

Ultimately, though, food in Vienna comes down to Wiener schnitzel. Down a narrow passage in Old Vienna, locals and visitors alike pack into long tables at the hallowed Figlmuller’s (www.figlmueller.at). It’s a must-stop for schnitzel, specifically the largest schnitzel you’re ever likely to see — and unlikely to finish. It’s huge and delicious: golden, thin, lightly breaded and not greasy; and even more perfect when enjoyed with ein Vierterl — a quarter-litre tankard — of the house Grüner. As a no-nonsense quaffer, it has just the right acidity to counter the richness of the food.

The wine is similar to what you’ll find all over Vienna, especially away from the centre, in Heurigen, those informal wine taverns that serve wine of the same name. Heuriger also means “this year’s,” so the wine you’ll find there is always from the latest vintage. It’s served only after November 11 every year, dating from a 1784 law enacted by Emperor Joseph.

Almost a couple of hundred of these taverns dot the city’s environs, so it pays to hop a tram and explore districts such as Grinzinger, a leafy, hilly enclave.

Vienna’s passion for its food and wine has helped reverse the trend of losing farmland to urban development. Some 680 hectares are now planted within city limits. And thriving Heuriger account for much of the consumption, right in the neighbourhood. And just like the fresh, sometimes spritzy, very quaffable wine, the buffet-style Gemütlichkeit — such as smoked pork, fresh bread, pickles and local cheese — is also casual and uncomplicated.

Another streetcar trip leads to Weingut Wieninger (www.wieninger.at). One of Vienna’s most celebrated wineries, this quality producer is still housed in traditional cellars with an adjacent heuriger. Beyond the quaffers, Fritz Weininger makes excellent Grüner from the historic Nussberg vineyard just across the river, but the real find is the wonderfully floral and honeyed Nussberg Alte Reben Gemischter Satz — an extraordinary field blend, made from unidentified white grapes.

Sandwiched as it is between its bigger European neighbours, Austria used to be all too easily overshadowed. However, this small producer is gradually carving out a niche for Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, as well as Zweigelt and a range of modern-styled, if sometimes esoteric reds — not to mention superlative late-harvest wines.

And while you can find the wines here in increasing numbers, there’s no substitute for a visit to Vienna and a taste of its centuries-old food-and-wine culture.

The more Grüner you taste, the more you realize its potential as the perfect food companion. Sitting in a café just off Stephansplatz, I try to resist just one more glass of Grüner with my perfectly cooked gebraten Forelle — almond-crusted trout — but finally give in. The simple, gently acidic, fresh-tasting house wine is the perfect match for the mild-flavoured, moist flesh … I promise myself to drink more GV back home.