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Crème de la Crème Sparkles at the Ball of Balls
© Ashley Taylor
The Vienna Opera Ball is not only the glamorous highlight of Austria's world-famous ball season, but it is also designed to be a cultural and culinary showcase. After all, guests from all over the world don their finery to attend the event at the Vienna State Opera. It is a great opportunity to display the best the country has to offer. We asked wineries and star chefs what they will be serving come 12 February.
A three-member committee has recently been appointed to revamp the Opera Ball as ‘Best of Austria’: Susanne Athanasiadis, head of marketing at the State Opera, event manager Maryam Yeganehfar and Birgit Reitbauer, head of the three-Michelin-star restaurant Steirereck. Together with State Opera Director Bogdan Roščić, they are modernising the historic ball to give it a whole new image.
That Birgit Reitbauer has raised the gastronomic concept of the Opera Ball to an unprecedented level of quality is undisputed. Guests should discover the most delicious side of Austria. To this end, the dynamic visionary brings new top winemakers and chefs to the State Opera every year. Her philosophy is simple: only the best of the best, to surprise guests anew year after year.
The selected Best of Austria wines are served in the boxes and are available at the magnificent wine bar in the Schwindfoyer.
On the plate
In addition to the classic ball dishes from Gerstner, Ströck and Schwarzen Kameel, Steirereck & Friends will once again be cooking up a storm for the gourmets among the ball guests in the 1st basement. Heinz Reitbauer, together with two chef friends from renowned restaurants in Lower Austria: Thomas Dorfer (Landhaus Bacher) and Josef Floh (Gastwirtschaft Floh), both of whom are members of the JRE (Jeunes Restaurateurs Europe) association, have created exciting and entertaining dishes for the ball night, which they will prepare side by side.
In the glass
Wines fit for the State Opera
Every year, Michael and Stephanie Kerschbaum watch the Vienna Opera Ball on television. However, this year, they will be attending the ball for the first time at the State Opera House. The young couple is very much looking forward to it and has selected two cuvées for the grand occasion.
These are two red wines from central Burgenland, which, judging by their names alone, are a perfect fit for the State Opera, and which the Kerschbaum winery will be bringing to the Ball.
The Impresario is a cuvée of native Blaufränkisch, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It is grown in central Burgenland, cultivated with a French accent, and has a classic, elegant and sophisticated appearance.
The Opera cuvée, on the other hand, made from 60% Blaufränkisch and 40% Merlot, fermented with wild yeasts and aged in new 500-litre oak barrels, is irresistible in its youthful, untamed charm.
An exciting duo that conveys the breadth of central Burgenland's expression.
The master of Grüner Veltliner
Grüner Veltliner is as synonymous with Austria as Wiener schnitzel – or the Vienna Opera Ball. And few can represent the red-white-red flagship white variety better than Mr Grüner Veltliner: Bernhard Ott.
The biodynamic winemaker from Wagram masterfully manages to inspire tradition-conscious wine connoisseurs while also appealing to young, modern consumers.
Bernhard Ott's Grüner Veltliner from the Rosenberg vineyard (100 points in A la carte magazine) epitomises the style that is internationally associated with Austrian white wine. That's why it's such a perfect match for the Opera Ball, where historical elegance and a fashionable appearance go hand in hand on the dance floor and at the wine bar.
His signature wine, Der Ott®, is also served at the bars: "Completely us, completely me. Pure and impetuous," is how the winemaker describes his namesake wine.
Local colour & opera atmosphere
Thomas Dorfer, recently awarded the maximum five toques by Gault&Millau, is one of Austria's most brilliant chefs. Born in Carinthia, he has respectfully worked his way into the kitchen of his mother-in-law, Lisl Wagner-Bacher, and has led Landhaus Bacher restaurant into the highest league in recent years.
For the Opera Ball, Dorfer has created a dish that pays tribute to both his home region and the opera atmosphere: Imperial Carinthian noodles – with brown butter, Périgord truffles and pickled iceberg lettuce cream salad.
The five-toque chef is also offering marinated winter vegetables with a tapenade of dried fruits and nuts, accompanied by a parsley marinade.
Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC, sheer delight
In Vienna, everything revolves around the Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC, a white field blend with a protected appellation of origin. The Mayer am Pfarrplatz winery is a master of this art form so it is no coincidence that the Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC from Nussberg is considered one of the most famous. Incidentally, the distance from the hill in northeast Vienna, where the grapes grow, to the Vienna State Opera on Ringstrasse is only about five kilometres as the crow flies. Its magnificent vineyards are another singular feature of this capital city.
For the traditional Vienna Gemischter Satz DAC, different varieties are grown in the same row of vines, harvested together and vinified. The different white grape varieties ensures complex aromas and wines that are as multi-layered as the capital of the former Habsburg monarchy.
Grüner Veltliner and Riesling set the tone for Mayer's Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC. Paired with the old Austrian grape varieties Rotgipfler and Zierfandler, this results in a harmonious, aromatic white wine that can be enjoyed throughout the entire ball night.
Styrian wine route leads to Vienna
Sattlerhof waves the green and white flag of Styria at the magnificent ball. Fresh and fruity, as one would expect from a Styrian wine, the Sauvignon Blanc Gamlitz encourages drinking and dancing. With crisp acidity and invigorating aromas, this Gamlitz local wine lifts the spirits of the ball guests.
Senior bosses Willi and Maria Sattler are travelling to the Opera Ball with their ‘pride and joy’. Visitors to the State Opera will be able to discover that Sauvignon Blanc is not only a delight on its own, but also a charming accompaniment to many dishes. And not just the legendary Sacher sausages.
Sauvignon Blanc Gamlitz grows on crystalline quartz rock on a prehistoric coral reef. In its wines, the Sattlerhof winery expresses both this terroir and the grape variety equally: cool, lively and complex – the most delicious side of Styria.
Wachau Riesling – absolutely world class
For many, the Wachau region holds a special place among Austria's wine areas. The steep slopes along the Danube between Melk and Krems are picturesque and impressive. The microclimate between the Pannonian currents in the Danube Valley and the cool downdrafts from the Waldviertel region produces wines that are characterised by their maturity and full-body, but also by cool aromas. The Hirtzberger winery has been a flagship for the Wachau and Austria for decades – and this year also at the Opera Ball.
For the Riesling STEINTERRASSEN Federspiel, a "cross between lightness and depth", the Hirtzberger family cultivates various terraced vineyards around Spitz. The HOCHRAIN Riesling Smaragd comes from the vineyard of the same name and is even more complex.
The traditional Hirtzberger winery has been run by Franz Hirtzberger Jr. since 2020.
Three toques and a hat
Josef Floh is one of a kind. The likeable maverick is more than consistent in his pursuit of regionality. The radically sustainable top chef sticks to his guns: the JRE member refuses to shop at wholesale markets and, under the motto ‘Radius 66’, avoids products that have travelled long distances.
The ‘chef with three toques and a hat’ whisks ball guests from the State Opera House to the highest mountain in Africa. Well, almost. At the Opera Ball, Floh serves cabbage rolls with ‘Chilimanscharo’ – the name of his own Austrian grown chilli paste. Because you always need something hearty on a ball night. Those who prefer less spicy food can enjoy Floh's pickled king asparagus with flambéed fish and saffron.
Sparkling elegance of Schloss Gobelsburg
A glittering ball night calls for many, many bottles of sparkling wine. The corks pop, glasses are filled, toasts are made, and everyone enjoys life. That's how it should be! That's how it has to be! Birgit Reitbauer has brought one of the most important Austrian sparkling wine producers to the Opera Ball: Schloss Gobelsburg.
The Kamptal winery, which celebrated 850 years of monastic winegrowing history a few years ago, vinifies exclusively according to the ‘Méthode Traditionnelle’. Developed by a famous monk in Champagne, traditional bottle fermentation requires expertise, experience and a great deal of careful manual labour. The reward is the finest sparkling wines of world-class quality.
The Brut Reserve, Blanc de Blanc and Brut Rosé sparkling wines are served in the boxes and bars of the Vienna State Opera, having been given plenty of time and care for the special ball night. The base wines are matured in cool cellars for ten to 12 months before being bottled for the second fermentation. There they remain on the lees for another three years before being gently shaken by hand and disgorged.
This sparkling wine from Langenlois, Austria's sparkling wine capital, has everything a highly elegant sparkling wine needs to offer in the extravagant atmosphere of the Opera Ball: creaminess thanks to a long maturation period on the lees, a fine mousse and invigorating freshness.
Domestic pigs also wear ball gowns
While the society press waits to see who will appear at the opera ball wearing the most extravagant dress, it is already clear who will serve the dish with the most unusual name: first place clearly goes to ‘Hausschwein im Ballkleid’ (house pig in a ball gown) from Platzhirsch Steirereck. Heinz Reitbauer tailors a festive robe for his pork dish from red peppers. Not only delicious, but also a real eye-catcher.
The Steirereck team also treats hungry dancers to ‘bittersweet luxury’: various bitter salads with chervil root, winter truffles and woodruff. Perfect for the season and good for the liver and gallbladder – definitely not a bad choice during the ball.
A beer is always welcome
Amidst all the glamour and flashbulbs, many guests are thirsty for a cool blonde so it makes sense that the Opera Ball collaborates with Vienna's last major private brewery. Like the ball, Ottakringer is a Viennese cultural treasure and has been brewing beer since 1837. The highest standards, but with both feet firmly on the ground – that's how Ottakringer understands the fine art of brewing.
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