An Oenophile’s Guide to Vienna

For Kovac, who founded Karakterre, a 12-year-old natural wine fair in Vienna (which expanded with a New York City satellite in 2022), it’s on these trips to Vienna that lead to a lot of his firsts: buying records, sampling wine, tasting cuisine from East Asia. 

“Discovering the city was one big multicultural adventure,” he says. Four decades and countless visits and stays later, Kovac says one of the best things about Vienna is that it hasn’t been spoiled by globalization. “It thrives on creating rather than copying, leading rather than following,” he says. 

And he is intimately familiar with all the things (from the efficient infrastructure to the easygoing pace of life to the plethora of green spaces and fantastic food) that has consistently ranked the Austrian capital among the most livable places on the planet. 

A music lover, Kovac talks up the city’s rich music scene that goes well beyond the Mozart impersonators you might spot walking around near the opera. 

“This is where quite a few underground electronic music artists started their careers,” he says.

Having spent most of his life traveling to and exploring Vienna, it made a lot of sense for Kovac to launch Karakterre there in 2011. A wine fair focusing on natural producers hailing from Central and Eastern Europe, Karakterre has grown to become one of the most important events in the natural wine space; it gathers sommeliers, restaurateurs, importers, winemakers, and natural wine fans from all corners of the map to Vienna each year. .

Kovac shares his favorite things to see and sip in Vienna with Penta.

STAY

Located in four 19th-century palaces, on the ever busy Ring, the Ritz-Carlton Vienna’s parquet-floored, high-ceilinged rooms are decorated in a combination of marble and turquoise detailing. “In this city, it might not get more luxurious than that. You’re also ideally located to visit the historic center, the breezy Stadtpark, as well as some of the city’s best restaurants and music venues,” Kovac adds. The hotel also runs a Guerlain spa and a 60-foot pool. 

If Ritz is glitz, the SO/ Vienna is subdued, minimal, and monochromatic. Built by the French architect Jean Nouvel, it features digital mural ceilings by the Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist. “Breakfast at the top-floor Das LOFT, also a bar and a restaurant, is an event in itself,” Kovac notes. “It offers 360-degree views of the city and the surrounding woodlands.” 

But the location is a major upside, too. “Turn a corner and find yourself either at Karmelitermarkt, one of the city’s best farmer’s markets, or on a small square that features a cafe and a couple of international restaurants,” Kovac says. 

EAT

Based in the Eastern region of Burgenland, Werner and Angela Michlits are some of the pioneers of biodynamic farming. They’re best known for their Meinklang wine label. Kovac recommends starting your days in Vienna with a visit to their recently opened Meinklang Hofladen, where breakfast and brunch are made from scratch and entirely from the farm’s bounties. 

“The butter-jam toast or chives on fresh cheese toast are to die for,” Kovac adds. Hofladen also houses a sourdough bakery (flour used is from their own stone-ground wheat), small gourmet deli, and a natural-wine bottle shop.

Even if you’ve done it before, classic cafes, such as Landtmann and Sperl, once frequented by the who’s-who of 19th-century Viennese society remain a must. Sigmund Freud and the founders of the Vienna Secession movement like Gustav Klimt were among the regulars sipping melanges. If third-wave coffee is more of your thing, Kovac recommends the centrally located Caffe Couture, housed in the atmospheric Ferstel Passage, or Balthasar, close to the Karmelitermarkt; both roast their own beans. 

To dig into Viennese cuisine with purpose, Kovac recommends sampling three different schnitzel interpretations in a single day. His favorites are at the tavern-like Glacis Beisl, the upscale Meissl & Schadn, and the rustic-looking Cafe Anzengruber. 

“The jury is still out on which is the best one for me,” he says, “but my pro tip is to ask about the meat—there are those who use veal or pork depending on taste—as well as the technique. You never want a deep-fried schnitzel. You want yours pan-fried a la minute.” 

With his wife, Manuela, chef Konstantin FIlippou opened the city’s first natural wine bistro, O Boufes, more than a decade ago. It remains one of Vienna’s liveliest spots, with a changing seafood-focused menu and a selection of Austrian natural wines. Alma is another bistro where plates are shared and natural wine poured. The best cellar award, though, goes to MAST. Sommeliers turned restaurateurs Mathias Pitra and Steve Breitzke feature one of Europe’s deepest natural wine programs, led by Austrian favorites such as Sepp Muster, Gut Oggau, and Christian Tschida, as well as a terroir-led bistro menu. Kovac also says “MAST’s take on currywurst is the city’s ultimate comfort food and highly addictive.” 

For the most upscale fare, Kovac recommends Filippou’s Konstantin Filippou, family Reitbauer’s Steirereck in the city’s secluded Stadtpark (Watch out for the legendary bread and cheese trolleys, he warns.) or the avant-garde Mraz & Sohn. “All three are Michelin-starred and helped shape the region’s dining in their own ways,” Kovac adds. “Rooms are especially beautiful on a sunny day at Filippou and Steirereck, as they open for lunch, too.”

Finish at R&Bar, a natural wine bar. You can also grab a cocktail at Tür 7, where you might just brush shoulders with the country’s ex-prime minister,” Kovac hints. 

EXPLORE

Beyond the classics that are Albertina, Leopold Museum, and Mumok, the modern Viennese art scene is a subject of display and discussion at private venues, too. At Gallerie Junger, art historian Andrea Junger hosts visitors in an apartment space that is a crossover between a gallery and an old-school Viennese salon. Intimate gatherings are organized periodically through her newsletter. “The gallery’s collection champions the most exciting names in the Viennese art scene today,” Kovac adds.

Historically home to some of the fashion’s greatest, Vienna’s shopping scene today is excitingly modern. Wolfensson is packed with Europe’s most extravagant designers, such as Boris Bidjan Saberi and 10Sei0otto. At Indie, the in-house label, P. LeMoult, is among the most interesting. Pieces were inspired by Eugene Le Molt, a famed naturalist (and the owner’s granddad). Croatian-Japanese-owned Sagan’s handbags and leather accessories are worn by the city’s fashionistas. The seventh-generation shoemaker Scheer and the fourth-generation hatter Mühlbauer are centuries-old design houses that have successfully transitioned into the present day, with celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Madonna on the customer list.

The talk of the town when it comes to glass, though, is Robert Comploj. “His Instagram videos of glass blown on Viennese streets have made even those not interested in the craft pay attention,” Kovac adds. One needs to be seriously into the wine glass debate to shop at Lobmeyer, the royal crafts company that blows some of the world’s most beautiful (and expensive) glass.

Try to resist the need to spend hours and nerd out on rare records at Sissy Sound. Upgrade your system with Austria’s own audiophile brand, Pro-Ject. Check out the listing at Porgy and Bess, which hosts both global and local jazz acts.

For architecture lovers, Kovac recommends the Otto Wagner’s Church of St. Leopold at Steinhof, an emblematic piece of 20th-century architecture and considered Europe’s first modern church. “It is a stunning piece of architecture worth traveling for,” Kovac says of the eye-catching Art Nouveau pile located within the grounds of a psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of the city. If you plan your visit on a weekend, it’s open to the public. Then, Kovac suggests you sneak behind the church where “you’ll find yourself in the dreamy Steinhof public fields and park, perfect for a picnic before a return to the city center.”