A Heuriger is a wine tavern where a local winemaker pours the current year’s wine and serves simple food. Vienna is one of the few capitals that still grows grapes inside the city limits, and the taverns on its hillsides are among the most relaxed places to spend an evening. This guide explains how they work and where to go.
What is a Heuriger?
“Heuriger” means “this year’s” and refers to the new wine. A traditional tavern signals that it is open by hanging a pine branch (the Buschen) over the door. The owner makes the wine, and the menu is built around it. Many places serve in a courtyard or garden under trees.
How it works
- Find a table, then walk to the buffet and choose cold dishes by weight or portion: roast pork, cheeses, spreads, pickles, bread.
- Wine is ordered at the counter or from a server. A “Gemischter Satz”, the typical Viennese field blend of several grape varieties, is the signature wine.
- A “G’spritzter” is wine mixed with sparkling water, a common daytime choice.
- Bringing your own food is traditional in some places, but ask first. Most visitors use the buffet.
Where to go
The best-known wine villages are Grinzing, Nussdorf, Sievering, Neustift am Walde, Stammersdorf and Strebersdorf. Grinzing is the most famous and the easiest to reach, but also the busiest. Neustift am Walde and Stammersdorf are more local in feel, with fewer tour groups.
Getting there
Grinzing is reached by tram line 38 from the Schottentor area, and Nussdorf by tram D. Neustift am Walde is reached by bus. Stammersdorf is reached by tram line 31. Connections and routes are updated by the city’s transport operator, so check the current timetable before you go. Last services return into the city in the late evening, but check times if you plan to stay late.
Tips
- Opening days differ. Many taverns open only on certain days and in set months, so check the individual winery’s calendar.
- Go on a weekday afternoon for quiet, or at sunset on a weekend for atmosphere.
- Cash is still common in smaller taverns, although card payment is increasingly accepted. Prices change from year to year.
For a wider picture of Austrian wine and food, see What to Eat in Vienna and our guide to authentic food and wine experiences.
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I’m Andrea, a travel writer based between Vienna and the Croatian coast, and I’ve been exploring both countries in depth for the past 10 years.
I’ve taken 50+ solo trips across Austria, Croatia, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, Italy and the wider Balkans, and I speak German, Croatian and English fluently, which means I get to have conversations most tourists never do. I know which Viennese coffee house the locals actually go to (hint: not the famous ones), and I know the Dalmatian islands well enough to tell you which ferry to take and which to avoid.
My writing is grounded in lived experience: I’ve navigated Austrian bureaucracy as a resident, hiked the Julian Alps in September when the crowds have gone, and eaten my way through Dubrovnik’s back streets at midnight. I cover Central Europe and the Adriatic for solo travellers who want something more than a highlight reel.
I also write in depth about Vienna and Austria at allaboutvienna.com, where you’ll find everything from neighbourhood guides to seasonal event coverage and expat tips.
When I’m not writing I’m usually hiking, swimming in the Adriatic, or arguing about which city makes better coffee. (It’s Vienna. It’s always Vienna.)