Wine festivals in Germany - experience autumn wine festivals

Writer: Helena Bergström

Updated: August 2026 | Autumn is the time for wine festivals in Germany. Every year during October and November you can find wonderful wine festivals, filled with wine, food and wine queens.

Our experiences of wine in Germany

We have traveled, among other things, to Moselle valleys with our camper van – an area that offers a beautiful rolling landscape, but also boat trips, history and, of course … wine. We would love to return to the Moselle Valley again, and we are also curious about the Rhine Valley and the Ahr Valley. If you have the opportunity to go to Germany in the fall, you also have the opportunity to take part in one of the many wine festivals in Germany!

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.

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 are located in the southeastern part of the country. Here you will find the wine regions of Ahr, Mittelrhein, Mosel, Rheingau, Nahe, Rheinhessen, Palatinate, Hessische Bergstrasse, Baden, Württemberg and Franconia. In the eastern part of the country are the wine regions of Saale-Unstrut and Saxony.

8 wine festivals in Germany

Where can you find all these wine festivals in Germany? We have received tips about good wine festivals via the German Tourist Office, and we will recommend them below.

1st Cochem feather duster festival

• Date: In November
• Activities: Music, Federweisser (alcoholic fermented grape drink) and Zwiebelkuchen (traditional onion cake).
• Read more: Cochem Featherweight Festival

2. Eltviller Kappeskerb

• Date: End of October/beginning of November
• 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

3. German Grape Harvest Festival

• Date: End of September and beginning of October
• 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

4. Schwabmünchner Weinfest

• Date: Last Sunday in October
• Activities: Sunday open wine festival
• Read more: Schwab Munich Wine Festival

5. Fellbach Autumn

• Date: In October
• Activities: Wine tasting, lantern parade and autumnal songs.
• Read more: Fellbach autumn

6. Churfürstliches Weinbergfest Radebeul

• Date: First weekend in October
• Activities: Winemaking and hunting parade, traditional archery, castle tours, and wine and game.
• Read more: Electoral Vineyard Festival Radebeul

7. Einholen der Letzten Fuhre in Iphofen

• Date: In early October
• Activities: Decorated vineyard wagons, musical accompaniment, wine and culinary delicacies.
• Read more: Catching the last train in Iphofen

8. Viez festival in Merzig

• Date: First Saturday in October
• 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

The tradition of 'Besenwirtschaft'

”Besenwirtschaft” are a type of seasonal wine bar where winegrowers can serve their own wine. The bars can be called different things in different regions (for example, Besen, Straussen, Kränzle, Rädle or Hecken inns).

You can also recognize the bars by various symbols, such as a broom with colored ribbons, a bouquet of twigs, a garland of vines or perhaps an old decorated wagon wheel.

The history of winegrowers' own bars dates back to the 10th century, when new regulations made it possible for winegrowers to sell their own wine on the farm. Winegrowers do not need a restaurant license to do this, but they must adhere to certain rules.

They are only allowed to stay open for a maximum of four months, there may be a maximum of 40 seats for guests and they are only allowed to offer simple food such as cheese and cold cuts, potato salad, Maultaschen (pasta filled with meat), sauerkraut and bread.

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!

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