The Max and Moritz wine bar on the Viktualienmarkt has been around since July 2021, but the story actually begins 28 years ago in the delivery room at the Großhadern Clinic. Two women met there while giving birth. They named their children Max and Moritz, nice coincidence. Max and Moritz and their mothers remained in loose contact over the years; the families visited each other, went on visits to the zoo and went on ski trips. When he turned 18, Max called Moritz for his birthday, or vice versa, they don’t remember exactly. “What are you doing now, after graduating from high school?” It turned out that both wanted to choose the same course of study, Finance at the TU Munich.
The desire to try something out, to start a small business, that was the first trick. The second was a shared interest in wine. And the third, this trip to South Africa. That was nine years ago, during the semester break. Actually they just wanted to visit friends and look at a few wineries. But a few weeks later they had suddenly imported 4,000 bottles of South African wine, stored in Mom’s garage and basement.
“Looking back, it was sauna naive,” says Moritz Schreiner. But they were just impressed by, as he calls it, attitude of South African winemakers. “They were so open, took so much time, they didn’t have to do it for two 19-year-olds,” says Schreiner.
At the Viktualienmarkt since summer 2021: The operators Moritz Schreiner (left) and Max Schiefer.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
This was followed by an online shop, many wine tastings for companies and small groups, and at the end of 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, the decision to run the whole thing at a professional level and rent a warehouse. Shortly afterwards, a stand became available on the Viktualienmarkt, and Max and Moritz won the tender.
They now have 12 to 15 wines on tap at all times. The portfolio is a 50/50 mix of German organic wines and selected South African wines. “South Africa had sustainability standards very early on, long before organic was an issue in Germany,” explains Max Schiefer.
The prices in the wine bar are moderate by Munich standards, from just under five to just over eight euros per glass. If you like, you can take the wines home by the bottle at online shop prices. They have displayed some of the 450 products available in the online shop on a wine wall in the bar. Two house wines, appropriately named 1st and 2nd Streich, are also on offer. They are created in cooperation with an organic winery in Rheinhessen.
There are always 12 to 15 wines on offer, a 50/50 mix of German organic wines and South African discoveries.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
The wine bar is located opposite the fish restaurant Poseidon on the east side of the Viktualienmarkt towards Westenriederstrasse.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
The wines in the bar change often. “We deliberately wanted to keep the concept simple,” says Schreiner. “The menu is diverse when it comes to wines. But there aren’t three Sauvignon Blancs from three different winemakers.”
You sit on stools at high tables or at the window front. The wine bar should be a place where everyone feels comfortable. Regular guests who come individually or in groups, couples taking a break from shopping or tourists visiting the Viktualienmarkt. “The atmosphere here is sometimes compared to the Rhineland or to a bar in Barcelona or Madrid because people here get into conversation so easily,” says Schiefer.
Schiefer and Schreiner don’t just run the wine bar, manage the online shop and organize tastings. They also work on digitalization projects for the wine industry, helping wineries collect customer data and generate more reach. “It would be a shame if we didn’t move forward with this,” says Schreiner. So you can look forward to Max and Moritz’s next prank.
Wine bar Max and Moritz on the ViktualienmarktWestenriederstraße 9, 80331 Munich, opening hours: Monday to Friday 12 p.m. to 10 a.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m