Not only does Vienna have a significant wine-growing industry, the city even has its own state-owned winery. And, once a year, the Cobenzl Winery open day gives visitors a taste of the business (see what I did there?)
- Look inside the winery
- Try the (award-winning) wines
- Free entry, but payment required for tastings
- 2025 date: TBA (was April 26th in 2024)
- Book a food or drink experience* in Vienna
- See also:
Cobenzl Winery
(Grüner Veltliner is a popular local variety)
Weingut Cobenzl (to give it its German name) is a fully-certified organic winery owned by the city of Vienna.
Not only is the winery run by the municipality, but it’s located within the city limits. Astoundingly, Vienna actually has a flourishing vineyard sector, thanks to its outlying hills and grape-friendly climate.
Nor is Viennese wine a novelty: we have a longstanding vineyard culture here that dates back to Roman days.
Cobenzl Winery represents one of the main players, producing whites and reds from such local varieties as Grüner Veltliner or Blauer Zweigelt. It’s perhaps most famous for its Wiener Gemischter Satz, a blended white wine awarded DAC status.
(DAC stands for Districtus Austriae Controllatus, which indicates a quality wine typical of a region.)
If you need specific evidence of Cobenzl’s credentials…the winery won the Rote Cuvées category at the 2022 Wiener Weinpreis awards, the Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC Ortswein category at the 2023 event and the Sparkling Wine category at the 2024 awards.
Numerous Cobenzl wines also qualified for the awards’ 2024 gold medal list, including four of their Grüner Veltliner wines, four Riesling wines, six Weißburgunder wines, and eight Gemischter Satz DAC wines.
So, yes, a winery of quality.
Once a year, Cobenzl opens its doors to everyone at the Tag der offenen Kellertür, which translates directly as the “Day of the Open Cellar Door”.
Throughout the day, you can take a tour of the winery (in German, I think, but still), and taste some of the excellent wines produced from its vineyards.
Dates, tickets & tips
I don’t have dates yet for the 2025 open day. Watch this space or the official website (see below). The previous event took place on April 26th from 10am to 8pm.
Entry is normally free, but if you wish to try the wines you need to buy a tasting armband (priced at €25 last time out).
The winery has two immediate neighbours of possible interest to visitors, too:
- Landgut Wien Cobenzl: a city farm that delivers exactly what it says on the label: a series of farm stalls and enclosures where kids (and their older companions) can get up close to farm animals
- Waldgrill Cobenzl: a traditional Austrian restaurant I often went to with my kids after visiting the city farm
How to get to Cobenzl
Inevitably, the winery is not next to a subway station in the middle of Vienna; it’s out in the hills that edge the city. But, this being Vienna, it’s not too hard to reach by car or public transport.
The 38A bus stops outside at the free Cobenzl car park: Parkplatz Cobenzl. The bus sets off from Heiligenstadt station, which is a stop on the U4 subway line that leaves, for example, from the central Karlsplatz, Stadtpark, Schottenring and Schwedenplatz stations.
When you’re up there, take the opportunity to look out across the city from the hillside.
Address: Am Cobenzl 96, 1190 Vienna | Website