German Wine Festivals for advanced Wine Lovers


There is no lack of wine festivals in Germany’s wine making regions. Any village related to wine will have its celebration sometime throughout the year. There can be so many fests that some regions have a strict schedule to ensure that the villages’ wine parties don’t cannibalise each others attendance. (Which is great: you can spend all summer – and autumn – with al-fresco drinking…I have friends who managed to stay on tour for the entire summer.) These wine fests are a great opportunity to immerse yourself into local folklore, drink inexpensive yet good wines and taste local snacks and specialties. You’ll rub elbows with the locals and certainly meet plenty of winemakers at their stands.

picture curtesy of (c) deutsches weininstitut

It’s not at each wine fest though that you will get to taste high-end wines – many of the top winemakers have a just too busy schedule to participate. And the weinfests typically take place on market squares or village centers which is very nice, but offers just a fraction of the ambiance that the background of historic wine estates can provide.  

Yet there are some wine events that combine both, tasting high-end wines and visiting historic wine estates.  These are the wine events worth every single second spent – in Michelin star language you’d call them ‘worth a journey’. These events are special because they take place right where the wine is made. It’s also a demonstration to which extend wine making culture in Germany has changed: It used to be ‘every winemaker for himself’. Now, especially with a younger generation taking over, there is a much stronger sense of community and partnership.

Here is a selection of highly recommended wine fests for you to plan your next trip – based on accessibility, quality of winemakers, choice of wines and location:

Recommended Wine Events in June

Unless a link is provided, there is no English information available. We’ll be glad to help you know more about the event just contact us.

Mythos Mosel Mosel | 27. to 30. May 2018 Takes place annually with around 25 wine estates hosting 75 guest estates. An opportunity to taste around 500 wines ( – there are plenty of blogposts dedicated on how to best navigate this challenge). At just 50 Euro this event is a steal.

Mythos Mosel
Mythos Mosel Mosel | 27. to 30. May 2018Takes place annually with around 25 wine estates hosting 75 guest estates. An opportunity to taste around 500 wines ( – there are plenty of blogposts dedicated on how to best navigate this challenge). At just 50 Euro this event is a steal.
Präsentation am Roten Hang Rheinhessen (Nierstein) | June 2018An annual celebration of the Winemakers working the famous Rote Hang – one of Rheinhessen’s best known appellations with top grand cru wines. 30 Winemakers, 100+ wines. Taste by the glass.
VDP.Heimspiel Nahe (Traisen/Niederhausen) | June 24-25, 2017All winemakers of the prestigious Association VDP in the Nahe River Valley will be presenting their wines at three estates. There will be also 21 guest estates from the neighbouring wine region Rheinhessen. 35 Euro will pay for an unlimited tasting of over a 100 wines.

Recommended Wine Events in July

Unless a link is provided, there is no English information available. To know more about the event just contact us.

– sorry there are plenty of wine events ‘worth a stop’, but we are still chasing for events we’d call  ‘worth a detour’. Meanwhile do check out the list of ‘Summer parties at wine estates in Rheinhessen and Nahe’.

Recommended Wine Events in August

Unless a link is provided, there is no English information available. To know more about the event just contact us.

Rheingauer Weinwoche Rheingau (Wiesbaden) | Aug 11-20, 2017Around 100 Rheingau winemakers will be presenting their wines in the city center of Wiesbaden – around 1000 wines to taste by the glass. (Look for the stands of the VDP-member winemakers – you can hardly go wrong with these.) Dubbed as the ‘longest wine counter in the world’ this historic wine fest is very easy to reach, being located just at 30 mins from Frankfurt Airport. It can get quite crowded though.
SaarRieslingSommer Saar (Konz) | Aug 25-27, 201710 historic wine estates and 20 guest-winemakers will be offering their wines. There will be about 100 wines available – many of them from world famous estates such as van Volxem, von Othegraven, Kesselstadt and many more. A flat fee of 35 euro covers all wines available for tastings.

We do aspire to publish only exact and correct information. Changes and mistakes happen though – please do verify essentials such as time, date and location before setting off.