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 voucher needed for tastings
- 2021 date: TBA
- See also: Events in Vienna | Vienna Wine Festival
Cobenzl Winery
Weingut Cobenzl (to give it its German name) is owned by the city of Vienna.
Not only is it owned by the city, but it’s located within the city limits, too. Astoundingly, Vienna actually has a flourishing vineyard sector, thanks to its hills and climate.
Nor is Viennese wine to be sniffed at. There’s a proper vineyard culture here that dates back to Roman days.
Cobenzl Winery is 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.)
Impressively, the vineyard has just begun the three-year transition phase required before coming a fully-certified organic enterprise.
And if you need more specific evidence of Cobenzl’s credentials…the winery took home gold medals in the “Grüner Veltliner Grinzing” and “Gemischter Satz Sekt Brut Reserve” categories at the 2020 Wiener Weinpreis awards.
Once a year, the Cobenzl Winery 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 many vineyards.
Incidentally, the winery has two immediate neighbours of possible interest to visitors:
- Landgut Wien Cobenzl is a city farm that delivery exactly what it say 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 is a traditional Austrian restaurant I often went to with my kids after visiting the city farm.
2021 dates and tickets
The wine bottles normally open one day in mid-May from 11am to 9pm. As soon as I have a date, I’ll post it up.
Entry is free, but if you want to try the wines you’ll need to buy a drinks voucher at the winery. At the last event, a €5 voucher let you taste five wines, a €10 voucher let you taste (surprise) ten wines.
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 38A begins at Heiligenstadt station, which is a stop on the U4 subway line.
(When you’re up there, take the opportunity to look out across the city from the hillside.)
Address: Am Cobenzl 96, 1190 Vienna | Website