An evening at a Heuriger in Grinzing
The pine branch above the door of a Heuriger is the signal that it is open — by convention, the Buschen (bunch of pine or spruce branches) means the new wine is ready and the tavern is serving. This tradition, established by Emperor Joseph II in 1784, gave vintners the right to sell their own wine directly without going through an innkeeper. The word Heurig means “this year’s” in Viennese dialect, and the wine in the carafe is always from the most recent vintage.
I went on an October evening in Grinzing — late enough in the autumn that the vendange (harvest) was largely finished, the air was cold, and the terrace garden at the back of the Heuriger was half-full of people in coats who had decided that sitting outside was still preferable to sitting inside.
Getting there
Grinzing is a village that has been absorbed into Vienna’s 19th district while retaining its village logic — a main street (Grinzinger Strasse), a collection of old farms converted to Heurigen, a vineyard hillside above. From the city center: tram 38 to Grinzing terminus, 30–40 minutes from the Ring. The terminus is at the top of the village; the Heurigen are within 5–10 minutes’ walk.
The alternative: tram D to Nussdorf (the other Heuriger village), which has a slightly different character — more settled residential, the Nussberg vineyard visible from the main street.
I chose Grinzing because I had heard about Heuriger Mayer am Pfarrplatz (which is technically in Nussdorf, confusingly, at Pfarrplatz 2) but went to Grinzing first because the tram was going there. The Heuriger I found was Heuriger Hirt (Grinzinger Strasse 165) — family-run, medium-sized, a garden in the back with a covered portion.
The system
A Heuriger is not a restaurant. There is no service to your table for food. The cold buffet — laid out on a long counter inside — is where you fill your plate. The system: take a plate, go along the counter, choose what you want, pay the buffet price (typically 12–18 € for a full plate), and return to your table.
What the buffet contains at Heuriger Hirt:
Liptauer — the signature Heuriger spread, a seasoned fresh curd cheese mixed with paprika, caraway, and chives. Eaten on dark bread (Schwarzbrot or Vollkornbrot). This is the defining Heuriger food, essential, available everywhere.
Lachsforelle (salmon trout) — cold slices with horseradish cream and dark bread.
Selchfleisch — smoked pork, served cold in thick slices.
Kaltes Geselchtes — various cold smoked meats (Speck, different sausages, Leberkäse).
Bauernbrot — sourdough rye from the local bakery, in thick slices.
Gurken (pickled cucumber salad) and Karfiol (cauliflower salad with caraway).
Gemischter Salat — mixed salad, simple and honest.
My plate: Liptauer and two kinds of smoked meat, a pile of dark bread, the cucumber salad. Returned twice.
The wine
The carafe of Grüner Veltliner arrived in a quarter-litre measure (Viertel, pronounced FEER-tel). This is the smallest carafe available; you order by the quarter-litre and continue ordering until the evening ends. The Grüner Veltliner at Heuriger Hirt is estate-grown — the vineyard is the hill above the village — and in October, the most recent vintage was already available.
Heurigen wine is not grand cru. The Heuriger wines are typically the Steinfeder category in Wachau terms (lightest, freshest wines, intended for immediate drinking rather than aging). They are low in alcohol by design (Steinfeder wines do not exceed 11.5% alcohol) and acidic in a way that works perfectly with the fatty, smoky cold buffet.
The organised Vienna wine tasting tour with Heurigen visit covers two or three Heurigen in the same evening with a wine guide who explains the classification and compares the estates — good for visitors who want the context alongside the experience.
The evening
The October darkness arrived while we were finishing our second Viertel. The garden lights came on. The table next to us (three people of retirement age who had clearly been coming to this specific Heuriger for decades, based on the familiarity with which the owner stopped to talk with them) began working their way through what appeared to be a second bottle of Riesling.
This is the point of the Heuriger: it is a place to sit in a garden in October with a carafe of local wine and a plate of smoked meat and not be somewhere else. Vienna has its palaces and its concerts and its museums; the Heuriger is where Vienna goes when it doesn’t want to be on display.
We stayed for three hours. The bill: 38 € for two, including the cold buffet and three carafes of wine.
Practical notes
Season: Most Heurigen open April–October. Some operate year-round; many close November–March or open only occasionally (the Buschenschank convention allows vintners to open for limited weeks per year only — check before travelling specifically for a Heuriger).
Hours: Typically from 15:00 or 16:00 until 23:00 or midnight. Lunchtime sessions sometimes available.
The Buschen: The green pine branch above the door means open. No branch or a withered one means closed. Do not be embarrassed to walk past a Heuriger that is not displaying a buschen — it is closed.
Best villages: Grinzing, Nussdorf, Gumpoldskirchen (30 minutes south of Vienna by S-Bahn — a separate village with excellent Heurigen), Neustift am Walde.
For a guide to the best individual Heurigen by village and quality of estate wine, see our Heuriger guide for Vienna.