6 Excellent Wine Bars In Vienna

By Tas TóbiásLast updated: May. 7, 2024

With 45,000 hectares (110,000 acres) of cultivated vines, Austria is wine country. Seventy percent are white, known for the vegetal Grüner Veltliner and the Rieslings made on the picturesque hillsides of the winding Danube in Lower Austria – Wachau, Kremstal, and Kamptal.

The reds, mainly Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt, come from Burgenland, the region abutting Hungary. Uniquely, the city of Vienna itself also makes excellent wines: the Gemischter Satz is a white blend from different grape varieties that were grown, harvested, and pressed together. The Vienna wine bars below serve both conventional and natural wines.

#1 Pub Klemo Weinbar

Vienna’s Klemo wine bar embodies that rare combination: a top wine program and a pretense-free ambiance. Here, no one will expect you to know the difference in soil between Bordeaux and Burgundy, but you won't be alone if that sort of thing gets you going. Around seventy wines are served by the glass, mainly Austrian, French, and Italian, in addition to daily tasting lineups such as 6 Rieslings of Wachau, 6 Reds from the Northern Rhone, or 6 Austrian Sweets.

The food also merits attention: the Päpstliche Platte cold cut platter, the homemade pappardelle, and the crème brulée have been mainstays on the menu since the 2006 opening. If a wine has caught your attention, you can buy it at Klemo’s wine store located across the street.

#2 Heunisch & Erben

A short walk away from the city center, Heunisch & Erben is an upscale wine bar and restaurant lining the main road of Vienna's not especially lively District 3. More than a hundred mainly Austrian wines are available by the glass. You can explore lesser known regions, such as the Traisental in Lower Austria (Niederösterreich) and Steiermark's sauvignon blancs in the south.

Prominent Austrian labels from Wachau, Kremstal, and Burgenland are also stacked, as are natural wine producers. Take advantage of the "1/16" option, smaller pours that won't break the bank and allow for more wines to taste. While mainly a wine bar, the oversized space also serves notably expensive fine-dining-leaning dishes, meaning the crowd is heavy on shirts and suits.

#3 MAST Weinbistro

Run by two formerly fine-dining sommeliers, MAST is a high-end wine bar and bistro in Vienna's elegantly sleepy Porzellangasse in District 9. A polished wraparound wooden counter lit by pendant light bulbs awaits oenophiles, who can pick from a few dozen bubbles, whites, and reds by the glass on any day (half Austrian, half foreign, both conventional and natural producers).

A full-service kitchen is available for small bites and for a six-course dinner tasting menu (€85 plus €50 for the wine pairing). Note that the crowd leans corporate and there's a bit of old-world formalism on the side of the sommeliers. Speaking of Porzellangasse, just steps away is the Liechtenstein family's striking Baroque palace and this area was also home to Vienna's Jewish upper class before the Holocaust.

#4 Unger und Klein

If Vienna’s fancy wine bars such as Heunisch & Erben and MAST are too uppity for your taste, I recommend you try Unger & Klein right in the city center. Opened in 1992, the place on Rudolfsplatz draws a well-off but pretense-free crowd of downtown residents with a wide selection of mainly Austrian wines.

Bottles by seminal producers are stacked on the shelves, including the Rieslings of Johannes Hirsch (Kamptal) and Knoll (Wachau) and the Blaufränkisch of Moric, Nittnaus, Preisinger and other Burgenland producers. You could also opt for an easy-drinking Gemischter Satz, the Grüner-forward blend made on the Viennese slopes ringing the city. Toasted sandwiches for the side: a must!

#5 Die Rundbar

Rundbar is a natural wine bar and restaurant smack in the heart of Vienna's fashionable District 7. As often with such places, an inflated sense of cool afflicts the servers here – a waiter the other day made a habit of pouring the wines on the go, two at a time, with varying success – but on good days, Rundbar can be more than just a feel-good hangout for uninspired Viennese hipsters.

The place is the project of Weinskandal, a leading natural wine distributor, meaning that the wine selection is deep, especially the Austrian and French labels (pet-nat? yes! orange wines? of course!). The concept is small plates; especially good are the croquetas de jamon, the marinated catfish, and the cold cut selections. Beware, a few of those with a couple of glasses of wine will set you back by €60 or so. Advance reservation is recommended (by phone).

#6 Wein & Co (Schottentor)

Wein & Co is the best-known wine retail chain in Vienna. Their assortment runs wide and deep and I’ve found plenty of treasures here. Each store comes with a dedicated wine bar featuring thirty or so by-the-glass options, both Austrian and foreign. My favorite one is by Schottentor, recently revamped and with big windows that overlook the Ringstraße and Heinrich von Ferstel’s 1883 Renaissance Revival masterpiece, the University of Vienna. It’s about the wines, but please don't leave without ordering a toasted ham and cheese sandwich.