Anyone visiting Vienna will probably pass through the two little towns of Grinzing and Heiligenstadt on the outskirts of the city. When there is something to be celebrated they are most festive indeed and you can be sure that they’ll be starting early in the afternoon. One of the favourite local drinks is something called Heuriger wine – a new wine, it’s also known as Sauser.  Franz Joseph II gave all wine-growers a special privilege – in that they were allowed to share their new wines without paying any concession and so when wine-growers offer their own wines with a special meal, a pine branch is hung outside the tavern 

to indicate that they young wine is now ready. For 4 months all Heuriger businesses are allowed to operate concession free. (They are also known as ‘pine closets‘). In Vienna, however, the word Heuriger refers to the wine and to the locale. Today the Heuriger bars are not longer traditional and are wine bars that are open all year round where one can even buy wine from the trade. Snacks are usually served in the Heurigen with the new wine and here are some of the favourites:

• Geselchtes – smoked bacon and other smoked pork bits with crusty bread
• Heurigenplatte – sausage, cold pickled meat, cheese, chopped onions, sour pickles and bread
• Liptauer - really good creamy cheese
• Quargel – small little cheeses combined with finely chopped onions & sometimes pickles
• Saumeise – minced beef or pork wrapped in pork caul and smoked or boiled
• Saure Blunzen – slices of blood sausage marinated in vinegar
• Schmalzbrot – fresh, crusty bread spread with dripping
• Surbraten – meat that has been pickled for 3 weeks and is then cooked and served warm
• Verhackerts – a  spread of minced sausage and meat

Last, but certainly not least, is the Schweinebraten, sliced thickly and served with crunchy bread.

SCHWEINEBRATEN

Ingredients

• 2 – 3 kg pork shoulder
• 2 – 3 tbsp caraway seeds
• 3 onions, roughly chopped
• 3 carrots, roughly chopped
• 250 ml good white wine
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

• Rub  the caraway seeds, salt, pepper and oil into the meat and marinate overnight in the fridge.
• Remove and allow to reach room temperature before going any further.
• Preheat oven to 200 C.
• Combine the onions and carrots and place in the bottom of a roasting pan just large enough to fit the roast comfortably.
• Pour the wine into the pan.
• Place the roast, fat side down, in the roasting pan on top of the vegetables.
• Cover the pan with foil, place in the oven and roast for 1 hour.
• Remove the foil from the pan and turn the roast fat side up.
• Cut deep crosses in the fat in a diamond pattern and place the roast, uncovered, back in the oven.
• Roast for another 1 ½  hours to 3 hours, or until the roast is tender and well browned on the outside.
• Remove the roast to a cutting board, cover it lightly with foil and let it rest for about 20 minutes and slice.