Grinzing & the Heuriger Wine Taverns

Grinzing, annexed into Vienna in 1892, sits at the foot of the Vienna Woods on the city's northern edge and has been a centre of local winemaking since at least the Middle Ages. Its Heurigen — the word describes both the young current-vintage wine and the taverns that serve it — became fashionable under Emperor Joseph II, who in 1784 granted winegrowers the right to sell their own wine and food directly from their premises without a licence, a tradition that survives essentially unchanged today.

A genuine Heuriger is recognisable by the "Föhrenbuschen" — a bundle of pine branches hung over the door — and the word "Ausg'steckt," signalling it's currently open and pouring. Inside, expect communal wooden tables, buffet-style Austrian home cooking (roast pork, cold cuts, cheese, bread), and a young, often slightly cloudy white wine served by the glass or carafe, traditionally enjoyed to live Schrammelmusik in the older, more traditional establishments.