Vienna wine festival in the Rathaus

The annual Vienna Wine Festival transforms Rathausplatz into Austria's largest wine tasting. Hundreds of producers from across the country pour their wines against the backdrop of the neo-Gothic City Hall. The quintessential Austrian wine celebration.

What to do there

4 things to do

1. 1 Enter the Arkadenhof Built to Rival the Church History · Free

   The architect Friedrich von Schmidt — former master builder of Cologne Cathedral — was hired in 1872 with one brief: build something that RIVALS Vienna's churches. He delivered a neo-Gothic behemoth with a 98-meter tower at Vienna City Hall (Rathausplatz 1, 1010 Vienna). Every September, Mayor Michael Ludwig stands in the Arkadenhof — one of Europe's largest inner courtyards at 2,804 square meters — and hands gold medals to Vienna's winemakers. A Gothic palace built to intimidate the clergy has become the annual altar of Viennese wine culture. Enter free during the Wienliebe Festival (September 18–21, 2025) and count the Gothic arches while asking yourself: did this same space host 259 gold-medal-winning wines in 2024?

   Backup: If you miss the September festival, the Rathausplatz Film Festival runs 28 June–31 August (2025) and features Viennese wines at food stalls from 11am–midnight, free admission.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Taste the Wine That Only Exists in This One City Wine · Price: low

   Wiener Gemischter Satz is the only wine in the world defined by the city it was born in — not a region, a country, a grape, or a style. Just one city: Vienna. At least three white grape varieties must be grown TOGETHER in the same vineyard, harvested on the same day, fermented in the same tank. Not blended afterwards — interplanted in the same soil. At the Wiener Wein Heuriger bar inside the Wienliebe Festival on Rathausplatz, ask for a Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC from Rainer Christ (Jedlersdorf) — he won three Landessieger titles at the 2024 Wiener Weinpreis. In September add: 'Haben Sie Sturm?' — the same grapes caught mid-fermentation, impossible to export because live yeast spoils it within days.

   Backup: Outside festival time, Weingut Wien Cobenzl (Am Cobenzl 96, 1190 Vienna; city-owned, 60 hectares organic) offers group tastings: 4 wines €10/person, 7 wines €14/person.

   Log Memory
3. 3 Find the Winery Where Beethoven Wrote His 9th Adventure · Price: low

   In 1817, Ludwig van Beethoven was going deaf and moved to Heiligenstadt seeking a cure at the sanatorium next door to Mayer am Pfarrplatz (Pfarrplatz 2, 1190 Vienna). He stayed in the house that had already been making wine for 134 years and worked on Symphony No. 9 here — the symphony he could not hear himself. The winery has operated on this same plot since 1683, and you can still touch the walls of the rooms where he sat. Visit as a working Heuriger, enter through the courtyard, and ask to see the Beethovenhaus. Order a Viertel of their Nussberg Gemischter Satz DAC — grown on ancient marine terrace hill with fossilized shells in the soil.

   Backup: If Mayer am Pfarrplatz is closed that week, walk 15 minutes uphill to Weingut Wien Cobenzl (Am Cobenzl 96) — city-owned, 60 hectares organic, open for tastings.

   Log Memory
4. 4 Hunt Three Landessieger Wines from the Awards Wine · Price: moderate · Optional

   Before arriving, check wienerweinpreis.at for the current year's Wiener Weinpreis results. In 2024, 406 wines competed; 259 received gold medals; 16 Landessieger (state champion) titles were awarded. Rainer Christ from Jedlersdorf won three Landessieger categories — the most that year. At the Wiener Weinpreis public tasting days in the Arkadenhof (5pm–11pm, €1–3 per glass), up to 132 award-winning wines are available for tasting. Say: 'Ich würde gerne einen Landessieger kosten.' The challenge: taste one Landessieger Gemischter Satz, one Riesling, one Grüner Veltliner — three facets of the same 700-hectare urban vineyard.

   Backup: Outside festival time, visit wienerwein.at/veranstaltungen for current public tasting events. Or book a WienWein group tasting at wienwein.at.

   Log Memory

Insider tips

• Buy the official tasting glass for access to all stands

• Focus on smaller, unknown producers - the big names you can find anywhere

• The festival usually runs in late August/early September