German Wine Festivals

Germany may be better known for its beer festivals, but the country also boasts hundreds of wine harvest celebrations, ranging from small scale parties in delightful medieval villages to full blown open air festivals in cities featuring thousands of vintages.

The "Weinfeste" are as diverse as the wines they celebrate and some date back hundreds of years. Wine festivals are also held in some of Germany's most scenic regions - along the Rhine and the Mosel and in Franconia in northern Bavaria - and offer a great opportunity to enjoy the country's food and culture and to see the locals really letting their hair down.

Most of the wine festivals feature some form of music - be it traditional oom-pah bands, dancing or singing - while some will include a Lord Mayor's procession or Wine Queen contest.

To accompany the serious matter of wine tasting, the festivals also offer the chance to enjoy classic German fare such as sausages, pretzels, cheeses and meats and local specialities such as Kässpätzle (cheese noodles) and Maultaschen (square dumplings with a savoury filling) from the Stuttgart region (Swabia). At the "Spargelfest", held in the Rheinland in late June, the delicacy is fresh asparagus - all the tastier when sampled with local white wines.

Most of the wine festivals are in the autumn, with a concentration in the wine-growing regions along the Rhine and Mosel. Some 500 festivals take place in the towns and villages along the Rhine, particularly in the Rheingau region, while a further 300 take place along the Mosel - many within easy cycling distance of the famous Mosel Weinstrasse (Mosel Wine Route). There are further wine festivals along the Main and Neckar rivers.

In October, there are numerous "Federweissen", festivals celebrating the arrival of the new wine, often sold at roadside stands. In late summer, Frankfurt am Main hosts an "Apfelwein" (apple wine) festival, a celebration of the cross between wine and cider that marks its own unique contribution to Germany's diverse drinking culture.