Vienna’s traditional vineyard taverns face pressure to adapt

Vienna’s traditional vineyard taverns, known as heurigers, are facing pressure from property development, rising costs, labour shortages, bureaucracy and climate-related changes to winemaking.

The taverns range from simple outdoor tables to larger restaurant-like businesses. They have long served wine from nearby vineyards with hearty central European food in the hills around Vienna. The tradition received UNESCO world heritage status in 2019, but the number of taverns has fallen sharply, from 512 in 1956 to fewer than 100 in 2015.

Clemens Keller, managing director of Mayer am Pfarrplatz and Mayer am Nussberg, said the businesses cannot rely only on their history. Speaking at Mayer am Pfarrplatz, near a room where Beethoven stayed while composing part of the Ninth Symphony, Keller said taverns that do not change risk disappearing.

Keller said succession is a problem, with younger generations less willing to take over demanding family businesses. Cultural anthropologist Peter Hoerz said the decline is continuing and argued that UNESCO listing can be a warning sign because listed traditions are often at risk.

Several people linked the pressure on heurigers to real estate development in Vienna’s wine-growing suburbs. Winemaker Jutta Ambrositsch said careless development in heuriger areas is a major problem. Hoerz said high land prices make it tempting for winemakers to sell buildings and facilities for large sums, and argued that the state should protect them from developers.

Anastasia Rentifi, whose PhD research at the University of West Attica in Athens focuses on the taverns, said rising operating costs, economic pressure, labour shortages and growing bureaucracy are also commonly cited reasons for leaving the business.

Climate conditions are another concern. The source report said Vienna’s vineyards are being affected by more extreme weather, and that scientists have long linked such weather to climate change. It said Austria recently had its longest June heatwave on record. Ambrositsch said adaptation is necessary and has planted grape varieties that are more resistant to heat, while also changing how she treats soil. Keller has increased irrigation work on his land.

Some operators are trying to update the traditional model. Ambrositsch said her tavern brings very different age groups together at the same table. Keller’s Mayer am Nussberg offers vegan food, alcohol-free wine and self-service ordering touchscreens. He joked that his grandmother would have objected to online reservations at a heuriger.

Hoerz said the traditional form of the heuriger had largely died out by the mid-1990s and argued that change has reduced diversity. He said simpler, cheaper wine gardens are being pushed aside by more expensive versions aimed at mass tourism. Ambrositsch said removing offensive stereotypes and respecting guests could help keep the best parts of the tradition alive.