Review of Wein & CO Hietzing – July 2024

I recently outlined my quality pyramid for wine bars. Essentially, the criteria for judging a wine bar are five, listed in order of importance:

1. Quality of the wines
2. Service standards
3. Half-glass option
4. Staff
5. Ambience

Based on this, here is my review of Wein & CO in Hietzing, one of the locations of this renowned chain of wine bars here in Vienna (which also sells splendid wines). Along with the central store at Stephansplatz, it is the one I visit most often, considering its proximity to where I live. Additionally, it is close to Schönbrunn, which offers a lovely post-tasting walk.

Review of Wein & CO in Hietzing

Quality of the wines

Wein & CO, in all its locations, offers a variety of wines by the glass: from sparkling wines, whites, reds, rosés, and fine wines, there are almost thirty glasses to choose from. The price range is also interesting and varied: starting from €5 per glass for a basic Grüner Veltliner, up to almost €20 for a half-glass of Burgundy. In short, there’s something for every taste and budget. The frequency with which the selection changes is a bit of a weak point, as I already noted in May: unfortunately, the wines no longer change monthly, and it’s unclear whether the menu is refreshed every two months or more. A pity. However, regarding this important criterion, Wein & CO in Hietzing remains: excellent.

Service standards

At Wein & CO, they are professionals, so I’ve only had an issue with serving temperature once (the mediocre rosé I mention below). But we’re talking about an incidence of less than 1%. The glasses in which the wines are served are of absolute quality, and each glass is accompanied by water. In short, the service standards are: impeccable.

Half-glass option

The Wein & CO menu offers a half-glass option, a nod to wine enthusiasts that makes these wine bars not only a good place for an aperitif but also for a true tasting experience. Therefore, the Hietzing location is impeccable in this regard as well.

Staff

The staff at Wein & CO in Hietzing is generally polite but also incredibly inattentive. If you choose to sit at the outdoor tables, you might need to resort to smoke signals to catch the waiters’ attention. Moreover, I have often noticed people who seem to be outsiders entering and exiting the kitchen, possibly friends of the chef or who knows. Nothing serious, but it doesn’t give the impression of high professionalism. Therefore, regarding the staff, the rating is: mediocre.

Ambience

The real weak point of this wine bar. The furnishings are extremely modern and soulless, almost sad. This could even be acceptable, if it weren’t for the fact that the background music is often completely off-theme: dance music, somewhat trashy, and at a high volume. It’s more suitable for a student bar in the center of Vienna than a quality wine bar for aperitifs or tastings. Who came up with this ill-conceived idea? The furnishings at Wein & CO in Hietzing are therefore unsatisfactory.

Overview of Wein & CO in Hietzing

Overall, considering that Wein & CO in Hietzing excels in the first two criteria (Quality of the wines and Service standards), which are also the most weighted in the final evaluation, this wine bar is certainly excellent overall. More attentive staff and eliminating the sound system would make it impeccable, but one cannot help but praise the great wines offered in abundance, the professionalism with which they are served, and the half-glass option. Chapeau!

And now a quick look at the wines for July-August 2024

Wein & CO in Hietzing – Wines of July 2024

1. Felton Road, Block 2 Chardonnay 2021
   • Ripe yellow apple, hazelnut, flint, warm cinnamon. There’s a lot of life here. A dense but perfectly balanced body that manages restrained aromas and rich fruit. On the palate, hazelnut and vanilla. The finish is long, saline, squared off by acidity with the exciting bitterness of grapefruit. A Chardonnay that never succumbs to opulence.
2. Domaine A. et P. de Villaine, Bouzeron 2022
   • Truly fascinating. Lemon and orange zest and a touch of seaweed. Taut on the palate despite a succulent body. Squared acidity. It’s a fun wine because it presents with a rounded body, but underneath there’s a wild, untamed life. Delicious. It finishes long and bitter with red orange zest and a polyphenolic touch.
3. Inama Azienda Agricola, Campo Dei Tovi Soave Classico 2023
   • Pear, apple, peach. Very simple. Minimal acidity, fresh with a weak body. Apple and pear on the palate and a finish all about pear. Fruity. An uncomplicated picnic wine.
4. Tegernseerhof, Loibenberg Riesling Smaragd 2011
   • The best wine of the day, not excellent, but very good. Tegernseerhof is a guarantee. Nuts, syrup, petrol, papaya. A wine that steals the show. It’s a glass at the peak of its life, already showing beautiful signs of decay. The acidity is a pillar, unchanged over the years and now in the background. On the palate, the full density and excess of 13 years in the bottle express themselves. Nuts and ripe tropical fruit on the palate. The sip ends, but the wine, so pure and concentrated, seems to have more to say. Nuts and sweet syrup encapsulate a long, long finish, driven by acidity.
5. Hampton Water, Rosé 2023
   • Cranberries, raspberries, tomato leaf, dried rose petals. It’s unclear what its purpose is, apart from being a rosé from the south of France and being marketed as such. Thin body, light acidity, watery palate, and a finish of dried rose petals. Not very interesting, but not poorly made either.
6. Mastrojanni, Brunello di Montalcino 2018
   • Burnt earth, blackberries, mushrooms, Mediterranean herbs. Inevitably, one expects more from a Brunello di Montalcino, but this one, despite lacking depth and complexity, isn’t bad at all. Medium-grainy tannins around the mouth and good acidity support a tasty palate with fruit (plums) and more developed notes (coffee). Medium-full body, fresh. Not a 3D finish, more of a 2D, but still fairly long.

Unfortunately, Wein & CO has become sluggish (again) in updating their wine list, which is why, for enthusiasts, I currently also recommend Pub Klemo in Vienna.