From lifetime achievement to the new opening, the sommelier and sommelier of the year and the prize for innovation and sustainability - Falstaff awards the most important projects and personalities that you should definitely know this year.
Hermann Döllerer, Döllerer, Golling
Innkeeper. Hotelier. Vinotheque. Wine glass producer. Festival Board. Hermann Döllerer was and is many things at the same time. When he took over his parents' restaurant and butcher's shop Goldener Stern with his brother Raimund in the 1970s, he had a vision. Simply playing host was not enough for Hermann Döllerer. Frozen food and microwaves were quickly thrown out, and the former Bürgerstube mutated into Golling's first address. A gourmet bar was quickly set up at the back. The wine list has always been one of the best far and wide. The finest sausages and delicacies were piled up in the butcher's shop. Neighbouring buildings were purchased and the hotel grew into a four-star establishment. An enoteca with a wine bar was built in Kuchl.
With son Andreas as head chef, the gourmet restaurant rose to become one of the top addresses in the nation. And in 2000, the Kleine Festspiele (Little Festival) in nearby Golling Castle - organised by Hermann Döllerer, of course - also came into being almost incidentally.
He was long known as "Il Grande Padrone". Today, he is the brand ambassador for the many business branches of the Döllerer clan, almost a small company - formed by a Salzburg visionary.
Dr. Christian Harisch
Five hotels in the Kitzbühel area alone, plus another four of the successful Lanserhof line - exclusive health temples between Sylt and London - as well as hearty mountain romance near the Hahnenkamm on the Sonnenbühel and fantastic Asian creations in the Kitzbühel branch of the globally successful fine sushi expert Zuma. And these are just a few of the top addresses in the portfolio of Dr. Christian Harisch, the gastronomic entrepreneur from Kitzbühel.
The man simply has a sense for grandiose hospitality and stands for the highest Austrian quality far beyond the borders. And he has a fascinating sense for trends - but also the typical Austrian ability to recognise opportunities where others only see problems. Zuma's involvement in Kitzbühel is a good example of this: an international gourmet franchise with a large number of staff in a destination focused on the winter season seemed impossible at first. Until Harisch came along and agreed with Zuma to host the entire team from the summer destination Mykonos in Kitzbühel for the winter. Sounds simple, but it's ingenious. In this sense: Thank you for deliciously logical initiatives that strengthen Austria as a business location!
Friederike Duhme, nineOfive, Vienna
Friederike Duhme originally studied art history in Frankfurt before an awakening experience with a bottle of mature German Riesling awakened her passion for the art of wine. Today she writes very inspiringly about wine, and has developed the Female Wine Collective, founding an association of vinophile winegrowers, restaurateurs and sommeliers, giving female visibility and empowerment in an area sometimes still dominated by macho behaviour. Above all she is responsible for the sensational wine list of the Öno-Pizzeria "nineOfive" on Wieden. A pizzeria with over 350 items, some of which are top-class bottles?
After Düsseldorf, where the first nineOfive was established, it is now also present in Vienna. The stars of the natural wine scene? All there. Tement Zieregg Sauvignon Blanc? Four vintages at a competitive price. But also exciting wines from the Loire and Jura, affordable white Burgundy, and in red some from Spain or the Rhône. And no fewer than 18 vintner champagnes from small houses that are considered "hot" in the scene.
The main restaurant also serves Jacques Selosse and Krug Clos du Mesnil with pizza, as well as La Tâche 2014. "We've only just opened in Vienna," laughs Friederike Duhme - and that certainly sounds like an announcement. We are already looking forward to it!
Walter Kaltschik, Stanglwirt, Going
Walter Kaltschik is the director, specifically the wine director, at the traditional Tyrolean Stanglwirt. The maître is truly a passionate man; for over 30 years, his passion for good, very good and absolutely exceptional wine has defined this man, who is always approachable and bubbling over with human kindness, and he has been delighting his guests in Going for over half of this time.
The Stanglwirt's wine book, which Habitués calls "The Book of Walter", is seemingly endless, covering the world's great vineyards, domaines and châteaux - mostly in magnificent vintages. Rhône magicians such as Jean-Louis and Yann Chave or Burgundian uber-winemakers such as Armand Rousseau, Vincent Girardin and Jean-Marie Raveneau? Everything is there, but how! Domaines and châteaux from Romanée-Conti (incredible treasures!) to Comte de Vogüé, Maison and Domaine Leroy to the mythical monsters from Bordeaux such as Pétrus 2005, Latour 2000 or Haut-Brion 1998? But please do! The really great Austrians are gathered together between classic and avant-garde, the German Rieslings, Swiss Pinots and Tuscan Massetos, Sassicaias, Solaias and Guado al Tassos fill pages and pages. It can take a while before you are ready to order - because there are so many beautiful things to discover!
Oguz Akaltan, Plachutta Stammhaus Hietzing, Vienna
Oguz Akaltan was just 21 years old when he started working at Plachutta's venerable flagship store - as a food server. It's been 27 years since then, and he still feels "every day, every time he starts serving, it's like the first day", says the man who followed in the footsteps of legendary restaurant manager Hubert Baumgartner in 2019.
Are the tables laid accurately? Do the chairs stand as they should? Is everything ready to pamper the first guest? These are the thoughts that go through my head before every service.
The brigade of numerous, mostly young, gentlemen and a few ladies from all corners of the former crown lands (and far beyond) act confidently under the aegis of the maître, always attentive to the guest and with more than routine competence. The service in Hietzing is always something special, even compared to the well-oiled machinery in the flagship outlet on Wollzeile: even more personal and courteous. Every day, Oguz Akaltan demonstrates that the great tradition of traditional Viennese hospitality remains unbroken to this day. By all accounts, the regulars particularly like the Turkish coffee at the end. Quite simply because it is so particularly good here.
Willi Schlögl
His parents' inn in Oberlungitz in eastern Styria was intended for Willi Schlögl. But things turned out differently: even at tourism school, little Willi left the cola rum to the others and preferred to drink wine - a drink that was to become his destiny. Instead of comics, he devoured wine books. He preferred the Viennese wine scene to country life. First he helped the customers of Wein & Co in Vienna with their choice of bouquets. But then, in 2013, he became a landlord after all - at the legendary "Cordobar" in Berlin. Instead of schoolmasterly posturing, there was painless drinking at a high level.
Since 2018, he has been running the wine bar Freundschaft with Johannes Schellhorn - also in Berlin - where many a bottle is brought to the 26-metre-long bar made of German oak. To make sure things don't get boring, he has been working with the rapper Curly on the cult podcast "Terroir und Adiletten", where greats such as Paula Bosch, Günther Jauch and Roland Velich always chat casually from the wine box. And with "Anleitung zum Weinsaufen" Curly and Willi Schlögl wrote the probably most unconstrained wine book in the world. Rarely has anyone brought Austrian hospitality and cuisine closer to so many people in such a relaxed way.
Lukas Kapeller, Steyr
Lukas Kapeller has already been Steyr's best chef by far once. The proud city at the confluence of the Enns and Steyr rivers was able to enjoy his Lukas in the middle of the old town until 2016, before he joined his father's business for several years. But the kitchen wouldn't let him go, which is why he recently seized the opportunity to build a retreat entirely to his taste on the roof of the former Steyr-Werke director's villa high above the city.
Together with his co-head chef Michael Schlöglhofer, he has been impressively demonstrating since the end of last year why gourmets want to come to Steyr: light-footed, high-class cuisine in an almost intimate setting, plus a wine selection put together with profound flair, and guest rooms of such elegance and comfort that they are almost worth the detour on their own.
The setting, a converted attic with barely 20 seats, a wide-open kitchen and a magnificent view over the city, exemplifies the style of cuisine: very personal, without regional blinkers, focused on pure, unadulterated enjoyment. Steyr can be happy - and so can we!
Gasthaus Stern, Vienna
The "Stern" is located far out and deep inside - in Simmering. That alone is an achievement that can hardly be overestimated for a fine pub, as the area is not traditionally known for its sophisticated hospitality. At first glance, the "Stern" also looks like a down-to-earth pub, just like the ones that still exist in Vienna. But then: white tablecloths, cloth napkins - and, above all, the refined Viennese cuisine of patron Christian Werner. Offal, whether Alpine calamari (tripe) fritti or bull's testicles in a lively top sauce, whether bruckfleisch from organic veal or veal kidneys in onion jus, are turned into delicacies here with a sure hand. Eternal classics such as roast veal kidneys, beef roulade, exemplary soufflé schnitzel or braised wild hare with napkin dumplings are paid homage as a matter of course.
They really know how to do it here. The wonderful wine list is also confidently designed, with a focus on Austria, plus exciting natural wines and hand-picked wines from France and Austria's neighbouring countries. The fact that guests flock to Simmering from far and wide proves it: The "Stern" is simply worth it!
Gasthaus Nährer, Rassing
Mike Nährer once took over his parents' inn in a corner of Lower Austria that is not exactly favoured for excursions: Rassing is a tranquil village not far from St. Pölten, but far from the province's traditional wine-growing or vacation destinations. But that hasn't stopped him from rising to become one of the top addresses in Lower Austria with his consistent work. The spectacular new building of the inn, including the regionally rooted grocery store, shows how culinary delights function as the driving force of a region. The chef not only worked with the country's great chefs (Walter Eselböck, Lisl Wagner-Bacher and Thomas Dorfer ...), but was also inspired by international greats such as Marc Veyrat and Ferran Adrià.
The molecular toys have long since been put away, and regional classics with a focus on really good taste now reign. In addition to great cuisine, Nährer also has other skills: together with friends, he has discovered old, forgotten vineyards in the neighbourhood and has been producing remarkable wines for several years. The fact that they are an ideal match for his cuisine, which is firmly rooted in the region, but does not shy away from thinking outside the box, can only be due to the fact that they reflect the character of their winemaker. That's how it should be!
Ragginger, Nussdorf
This gem in the heart of Nußdorf am Attersee, now run by Maria Ragginger in the fifth generation of innkeepers, is a real gastronomic institution. The fresh meat loaf from the butcher's shop is just as much a part of the country inn as the perfectly tapped Seidl (or a Krügerl?). And while European culture is being celebrated throughout the Salzkammergut this year, hospitality is celebrated as a cultural asset with fine beer specialities.
As with the cuisine, which relies on the hotel's own chickens to supply eggs and meat, they also love regional hops and malt: whether it's wheat beer, an old Bavarian dark beer or a "Kaltenhauser" whistle to start with, the quality in the four-star hotel has to be right. After all, guests don't always want to refresh themselves by jumping into Lake Attersee from the Ragginger's private bathing area. But the choice has never failed anyway. Maria looks just as closely at the taps as mother Gitti does at the sweets or dad Toni - master of the aforementioned Leberkäs! - with the sausage products from this place of pleasure on the lake.
Steirereck am Pogusch, Turnau
The Steirereck has long been a serial winner in all classes and is also the fixed star of the local gastronomic landscape internationally. With the reorientation of their sister business, the legendary restaurant on the Pogusch, as an excursion inn that is also a destination for enjoyment beyond the plate, Birgit and Heinz Reitbauer have created a monument to themselves in the truest sense of the word.
At a location with a high level of ecological sensitivity, an efficient top gastronomy business combined with an exemplary efficient glass house for growing food became a PlusEnergy building thanks to the use of solar energy, biomass and passive elements. In other words, the "Steirereck am Pogusch", including the spectacular new hotel rooms, produces more energy than it consumes. More sustainability and innovation is not possible!
The fact that the Glashaus has also become a highly attractive destination that enables sustainable gardening of the highest quality (and in a notoriously weather-sensitive corner of the country!) is something that connoisseurs with a down-to-earth attitude should definitely experience.
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