Wine Festivals in Germany

Growing up in the oriental side of the world, “wine” has always been a touchy subject in our households. But, leave it to the Occident to make a festival out of it. Yes, there is a wine festival in Germany and many other countries of the west where drinking wine and beer to your heart’s content is the very essence of the festival. Drinking wine, grape pressing, food and general merriment is the norm of the day.

The wine festival is generally conducted to celebrate the harvesting of grapes at the end of September and throughout October. However, if you turn the pages of History, you will see that the oldest traces of Wine Festival were found in Ancient Greece where they celebrated the wine festival in honour of their Wine God Dionysos. From then onwards, wine has continued to have significant cultural and even religious importance in many regions.

In Germany, the Wine Festival is taken quite seriously. Throughout, the year many small and big festivals take place in the country where you can officially dedicate a day to drinking wine. Not only drinking wine, these festivals are also a great time for all you gallivants to actually take in the flavour of the soil you are visiting. The festivals are dotted with bits and pieces of the local culture. It is a great time to observe the local people in their true skin and explore their native culture.

Some of the noteworthy wine festivals that you must attend in Germany are:

1. MOSEL WINE FESTIVAL

The Mosel wine festival is one of the largest wine festivals in Germany that takes place somewhere in between April and September. Mosel is a valley which is lined with vineyards. Therefore, the wine festival is quite a common occurrence in this region. The “Weinfeste” or Wine Festivals comprise the usual wine drinking and general merriment with local food, dancing etc.

2. THE TRITTENHEIM WINE AND BRIDGE FESTIVAL

Here is where the young meet the old. From 18th May 2018 to 20th May 2018, the young generation of wine grapes cultivators will carry the age old tradition of the Wine Festival under the bridges of Trittenheim. Not only wine, this festival will also have arrangements for food and dancing and other merriments. The festival will start from 6 p.m on Friday, 3 p.m on Saturday and 11 a.m on Sunday. 

3. ASSMANNHAUSEN WINE FESTIVAL

The Assmannhausen Wine Festival is famous for their Pinot Noir. This exotic red wine will truly ensnare your senses with its intoxicating flavour. The red wine of Assmannhausen is so famous that the festival itself is called “Assmannhausen in Red”. It is generally held on a weekend. You can drink to your heart’s content and also enjoy the local food offered here. All this along with dancing and general merriment makes the Assmannhausen wine festival one you must visit at least once.

4. STARKBIERZEIT 2018----- MUNICH’S STRONG BEER FESTIVAL

This is the secret beer festival held in Munich during spring. From 23rd February to March 24th march 2018 and from March 2nd to March 25th 2018 you can indulge in strong beer and make merriment with your family and friends. This festival occurs just in time for Lent. Like most other Beer and Wine festivals, alcohol is the norm of the day along with traditional food, dancing and general merriment.

5. ANNAFEST FORCHHEIM 2018

The Annafest Forchheim or the Festival of St. Anna is a traditional festival which is being celebrated since 1840. Located near Bamberg and Nuremberg, Forchheim is also called the “cellar hill”. The people of this region spend the month of July revelling in beer from the beer garden. About 500000 visitors from all over the world take part in this festival and spend their days in merriment with their family and friends. The Beer Gardens have over 20 smaller gardens without any tents.

6. INTERNATIONAL BIERBORSE 2018

This is a chain of beer festival that takes place in 24 cities across Germany. This festival stretches for over 5 months. You can enjoy beer from over 75 countries and stuff yourself with food to your heart’s content in free. This festival occurs in cities like Aachen, Borkener, Bonn, Boblingen and other cities of Germany.

The Beer Festival in Germany is one of the most unique festivals of the world where the norm of the day is drinking beer and wine. With a little bit of planning, you can visit Germany during one of these festivals and enjoy your visit being drunk with joie de vivre.