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08 October 2019 / 21 Comments

Wine festivals in Germany - experience autumn wine festivals

Wine festivals are currently taking place in Germany and will continue throughout October and November. Are you in Germany by car or motorhome this autumn? Why not drop by one of the many wine festivals?

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Our experiences of wine in Germany

In the summer of 2018, we travelled through the Moselle Valley with our motorhome. We didn't have the opportunity to stay as long as we would have liked, but we managed to experience the beautiful landscape, take a boat ride on the river and, of course ... taste wine! In addition, we also had time to see the historically exciting city of Trier, which is actually Germany's oldest cityand full of Roman remains.

We would love to return to the Moselle Valley again, and we are also curious about the Rhine and Ahr valleys. If you can make it to Germany in October or November, you can also take part in one of the many wine festivals in Germany!

Mosel dalen

How are wine festivals celebrated in Germany?

Wine festivals in Germany are celebrated after the wine harvest, which lasts throughout the autumn. The harvest begins in September, but some harvests continue until December or January. 'Eiswein' (ice wine) is the name given to wine made from grapes harvested and pressed in a frozen state, i.e. at -7 degrees centigrade or colder.

Some wine festivals in Germany already take place in September, such as the Stuttgarter Weindorf or the Bad Dürkheim Wine Festival, which is the largest wine festival in the world. Many other wine festivals take place in October, or even November.

Vinfester i Tyskland
Weindorf in Germany Stuttgart Marketing GmbH

Germany's wind queens

Just as in Germany, the "asparagus queens"When the asparagus is harvested, 'wind queens' are now chosen. There are plenty of different queens in Germany! Each queen is a representative of a particular wine in a particular region, and in total there are 13 different queens. The choice of queens has been made every year since 1931, and being a wine queen is of course an honourable task!

Germany's wine regions

A total of 11 of the 13 German wine regions is located in the south-eastern part of the country. Here you will find the wine regions of Ahr, Mittelrhein, Mosel, Rheingau, Nahe, Rheinhessen, Pfalz, Hessische Bergstrasse, Baden, Württemberg and Franconia. In the eastern part of the country are the wine regions of Saale-Unstrut and Saxony.

Map of wine regions © Deutsches Weininstitut
Vinfester i Tyskland
Saxony wine region German Wine Institute

9 wine festivals in Germany

So where do you find all these wine festivals in Germany? The German Tourist Board has given us some great wine festivals, and we've listed them below. Two of the wine festivals have already taken place, but we've included them for next year. The others are taking place now in October, or perhaps in November.

Vinfester i Tyskland
Rheinhessen wine regions German Wine Institute
Wine festival in Germany © Stadtiphofen, photographer Jens Wegener

1st Cochem feather duster festival

  • Date: 8-10 November and 15-16 November 2019
  • Activities: Music, Federweisser (alcoholic fermented grape drink) and Zwiebelkuchen (traditional onion cake).
  • Read more: Cochem Featherweight Festival

2nd Onion Cake Days in Lorch am Rhein.

  • Date: 11-13 October 2019
  • Activities: For the 20th time, Lorch's taverns invite you to a party with wine and "Zwiebelkuche" (onion cakes).
  • Read more: Onion cake days in Lorch am Rhein
Rüdesheim Drosselgasse Inns German Wine Institute

3rd Eltviller Kappeskerb

  • Date: 1-4 November 2019
  • Activities: The oldest folk festival in the region (since 1654!) offers a parade of decorated tractors, a market, fireworks, live music and delicacies.
  • Read more: Eltviller Kappeskerb

4th German Wine Harvest Festival

  • Date: 2-14 October 2019
  • Activities: The largest winemakers' parade in Germany, first trial from the barrel, market and festival in historic mirror palace.
  • Read more: German Wine Harvest Festival
Wine festival Stadtiphofen, photographer Jens Wegener

5. Schwabmünchner Weinfest

6th Fellbach autumn

  • Date: 11-14 October 2019
  • Activities: Wine tasting, lantern parade and autumnal songs.
  • Read more: Fellbach autumn
Wine festival © Stuttgart Markering GmbH

7th Churfürstliches Weinbergfest Radebeul.

  • Date: 5-6 October 2019 (this year has already been)
  • Activities: Winemaking and hunting parade, traditional archery, castle tours, and wine and game.
  • Read more: Electoral Vineyard Festival Radebeul

8. collecting the last load in Iphofen.

Wine festival GNTB e.v. photographer: Jens Wegener

9. Viezfest in Merzig

  • Date: First Saturday in October (this year has already been)
  • Activities: Apple wine 'Viez' in many different flavours. Apple wine can be dry or sweet, hot or cold, often sweetened with honey or other flavourings.
  • Read more: Viezfest in Merzig
Monbachtal, Black Forest, BW, Germany GNTB e.V.

The tradition of 'Besenwirtschaft'

"Besenwirtschaft" is a kind of seasonal wine bar, where winemakers can serve their own wine. They may have different names in different regions (e.g. Besen, Straussen, Kränzle, Rädle or Hecken inn). You can also recognise them by symbols such as a broom with coloured ribbons, a bouquet of twigs, a garland of vines or perhaps an old decorated wagon wheel.

Vinfester i Tyskland
Württemberg wine region German Wine Institute

The history of winemakers' bars dates back to the 10th century, when new rules allowed winemakers to sell their own wine on the farm. Winemakers do not need a restaurant licence to do this, but they must adhere to certain rules. They can only stay open for a maximum of four months, there can be a maximum of 40 seats for guests, and they can only offer simple food such as cheese and charcuterie boards, potato salad, Maultaschen (pasta filled with meat), sauerkraut and bread.

Maultaschen with potato salad © DZT e.v.

Have you experienced any of the wine festivals in Germany?

Have you found any of these German wine festivals, or perhaps another wine festival in Germany? Please let us know!

Vinkällare

Top photo: View from Calmont, Europe's steepest vineyard, over the Moselle and Bremm - Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

All our top tips about Germany. Click on the image!

You might also like:

Göra i HannoverWhat to do in Hannover - 15 sights and experiences Thale i HarzThale in the Harz - among witches and devil walls

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08 October 2019 6:00
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13 Comments

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  1. Helena from Finland says:

    Of course there are wine festivals to choose from along the Moselle. ?. One wine festival we liked was Urzig. Motorhome parking by the river and the party on the other side of the road. Close to home?

    08 October 2019 - 6:32

    Reply

  2. Ann says:

    Oh, a little wine in Germany doesn't sound too bad 😀.

    08 October 2019 - 9:10

    Reply

  3. bmlarstravellingblog says:

    We looked at the website Mosel-weinfest.de on our way home from Spain and it turned out that they were celebrating Lösnich er Herbst that weekend. It was a small village but nice as we the growers opened up and served some simple food to their wines. We ate among other things speckkartoffeln and goulash soup. On Saturday evening, a nice firework was also shot on the other side of the river. On Saturday we cycled to Kröv where they also celebrated a little and there we tried Federweisser for the first time, really good!
    We hope to fit in a bigger wine party some other year, that would be really fun!

    08 October 2019 - 10:44

    Reply

  4. BP says:

    What a (wine) marathon post! I'm also really impressed with the photos you got to use there. They are, to say the least, characteristic of Germany and especially of the wine festivals.

    08 October 2019 - 19:42

    Reply

  5. BP says:

    What a marathon post! Germany and its beer and wine festivals. There they keep their traditions. Oh what lovely pictures you got to use for the post:-)

    08 October 2019 - 20:42

    Reply

  6. Christine - 29°. says:

    There were many wine parties to choose from! 🙂

    09 October 2019 - 20:53

    Reply

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