German Wine and Beer Festivals 2012

2012 German Wine and Beer Festivals in Germany

For connoisseurs of wine and beer, spring and summer are  fantastic times to be in Germany. From Berlin to the Rhineland, there is a great choice of festivals to attend, depending on whether you prefer to conduct your wine-tasting in one of the small towns along the Mosel or in Rudesheim on the Rhine or at wine festivals in the larger towns like Stuttgart, Hamburg, Mainz, Frankfurt or Aachen. And then there are the almighty giant beer festivals to keep you merry as well.

The German wine and beer festivals are a great time to enjoy a variety of wines and beers, but it’s also an opportunity to observe the local traditions and sample local foods, as well as to meet a nice cross-section of people.

Some Beer and Wine Festivals in 2012

**Some of these dates may change so please always check the festival website before making your travel plans.**
Starkbierzeit 2012 - Munich’s Strong Beer Festival

February 24 – March 24, 2012 (Löwenbräukeller) and March 9 – 25, 2012 (Paulaner am Nockherberg) :  This is Munich’s secret beer festival in spring. Starkbierzeit focuses on strong beers traditionally consumed during Lent. More about Starkbierzeit…
For Munich hotels see Here.

Frühlingsfest 2012 – Munich Spring Festival
April 20 – May 6, 2012:  Munich Frühlingfest ends the spring Strong Beer Season. The fair is supposed to be a scaled-down version of Oktoberfest.  This year the fair will be held in Theresienwiese – Oktoberfest grounds.
Website: www.muenchnervolksfeste.de

Stuttgarter Frühlingsfest 2012 – Stuttgart Spring Festival – Stuttgart
April 21 – May 13, 2012 – Stuttgart Spring Festival in Cannstatter Wasen celebrates the end of the winter season.  The festival features beer tents, oompah bands, funfair, fireworks and lots of parties at night.
Website:  www.stuttgarter-fruehlingsfest.de/

Mosel Wine Festivals 2012
From April 27 – September 23, 2012: From early spring through fall, the towns along the Mosel hold “Weinfeste” (wine festivals). Local foods and wines are served and a general party atmosphere prevails. The Mosel Valley is full of vineyards that rise up the hills from the river banks. There is likely to be a wine festival in one town or another every weekend in the Mosel region.
Website: www.traben-trarbach.de/

Bergkirchweih Erlanger 2012
May 24 – June 4, 2012: This annual beer festival is a 250 year-old tradition and is celebrated around Pentecost for 12 days. More than 1 million visitors each year come to enjoy Erlangen beer and Franconian dishes.  The Bergkirchweih is open from 10:00 to 23:00 daily and you can then roll on to the pubs in downtown Erlangen.  Erlangen’s claim to fame is that they were the first to export beer, even before Munich and Kulmbach.
Website: www.der-berg-ruft.de

‘Assmannshausen in Red‘ – Assmannshausen Red Wine Festival 2012
June 2, 2012 – Assmannshausen is famous for its Pinot Noir.  On this one-day festival wine connoiseurs get to enjoy the Assmannshäuser red wine as well as local dishes and entertainment.

International Bierbörse 2012
June 1 – September 2, 2012:  This looks like a good excuse to drink beer non-stop for 3 months!  Bierbörse is an chain of annual beer festivals which are held in 11 German cities.  You can sample up to 1,000 different types of beer, including those from 75 countries.  What’s more, this is a free event and you only pay for the beer.  Bierbörse 2012 can be found in Bonn, Dorsten, Dusssldorf-Benrath, Frankfurt, Huckeswagen, Karlsruhe, Koln, Leipzig, Leverkusen-Opladen, Mainz, Schwerin and Viersen-Dulken.
Website:  www.bierboerse.com

Stuttgart Wine Festival 2012 – Hamburg
July 21 – August 6, 2012:  Just prior to the big Wine Village in Stuttgart, Stuttgart Wineries bring their wares to Hamburg for 2 weeks at the beginning of August. A wine village is set up in the Hamburg Rathaus Marktplace, complete with wine and beer gardens, regional Stuttgart fare and arts and crafts from the Stuttgart region.

Annafest Forchheim 2012
July 21 – 30, 2012:  Forchheim Annafest is an annual fair which takes place in July.  Forcheim is on the “cellar-hill” close to Bamberg and Nuremberg and each year up to 500,000 visitors decend upon its beer gardens (over 20 beer gardens and no tents here).
Website:  www.forchheim-annafest.de

Kulmbacher Beer 2012
July 28 – August 5, 2012 (tbc):  Kulmbacher is a traditional beer festival in the north of Bavaria.  Just for one week in the year, master brewers of Kulmbacher brew their secret formula beer.
Website:  www.kulmbacher.de/de/biwo

Berlin Beer Festival 2012 – Berlin
August 3 – 5, 2012: Usually held on the first weekend of August annually, this festival boasts the longest beer garden in the world – one mile long! One million people come to this festival each year. Stalls offer 2,000 types of beer from over 300 breweries from 86 countries with a focus on smaller, private breweries. However long it might take to sample 2,000 varieties of beer, the Berlin Beer Festival sounds like a great way to quench your thirst on a hot summer day. Live music and shows also keep the crowd entertained.
Website: www.bierfestival-berlin.de

Rotweinfest – Oberwesel am Rhein – Rhine River Red Wine Festival
August 4, 2012 – A very popular one-day Middle Rhine red wine festival in the market square of Oberwesel.

Ruedesheimer-Weinfest 2012 – Rüdesheim Wine Festival 2012
August 17 – 20, 2012: Always charming and picturesque, the small Rhine wine village of Rüdesheim hosts a Wine Festival that features the wineries of the region as well as food. The festival takes place on the main street and you can enjoy the beautiful views to the Rhine and the vineyards above as you sip your wine. If you feel intimidated about going into the small wine tasting rooms, this is a perfect way to get to know Rüdesheim and its wines.
Website:  www.ruedesheimer-weinfest.de

Stuttgarter Weindorf 2012 – Stuttgart Wine Village – Stuttgart
August 22 – September 2, 2012:  The Stuttgart Wine Village is one of the largest and most beautiful wine festivals in Germany. From the end of August to the beginning of September, the Stuttgart city center is transformed into a festive wine village. 120 wine alcoves with traditional decor offer up over 250 wines from the region, including Trollinger, Riesling, Kerner, Müller-Thurgau, Schwarzriesling, Ruländer, Schillerwein, Lemberger and Weißherbst. With so much wine flowing, the atmosphere is bound to be jolly. Great music and food complement the warm and friendly atmosphere.
Website: www.stuttgart-tourist.de/ENG/leisure/weindorf.htm

Aachen Wine Festival 2012
August 23 – 26, 2012: Located in North Rhine Westphalia, Aachen is an attractive Roman spa town, famous for its therapeutic waters, hot springs and 1000-year-old remains. This lovely town hosts a summer wine festival in the town center each year with over 400 wines on offer from 20 or more wineries in Rhineland Palatine. Featured wines include Riesling, Mueller-Thurgau, Kerner, Dornfelder and Spaetburgunder. Good food and wine, music and a generally great atmosphere make this Wine Festival a favorite among locals and tourists alike.
Website:  www.aachen.de

Mainzer Weinmarkt – Mainz Wine Festival 2012
August 23 – 26, 2012 and August 20 – Septembr 2, 2012:  The Mainz Wine Market (Mainzer Weinmarkt) plays host to over half a million visitors each year. You’ll enjoy wandering through the parks and rose gardens of the town as you go about tasting wines, eating the local fare and checking out the arts and crafts stalls. There is plenty of music to suit every taste and the city is known to be particularly beautiful at this time of year.
Website:  www.mainzer-weinmarkt.de/

Weinfest der Mittelmosel 2012 – Bernkastel-Kues
From August 30 – September 3, 2012:  Bernkastel-Kues Middle Mosel Wine Festival is  the largest and most well-known of the Mosel wine festivals.  Visitors will enjoy the brilliant fireworks display from Landshut Castle and the colourful  winemaker’s procession and the crowning of the Wine Queen.
Website:  www.bernkastel.de

Frankfurt Rheingau Wine Festival 2012
August 29 – Sep 7, 2012: The Rheingau Wine Festival (Rheingauer Weinmarkt) is Frankfurt’s only wine festival with vintners from the Rheingau offering over 600 types of wines in Fressgasse, one of Frankfurt’s charming restaurant and fine food areas. Rieslings are the specialty wines here, reflecting the unique terroir of the Rheingau wine region.
Location of festival is “Freßgass´”, Große Bockenheimer Straße / Opernplatz.
Open Times: Daily from 11:00 – 23:00
Frankfurt Hotels in the Old Town Centre (Zentrum-Alstadt)
All Frankfurt am Main Hotels
Website:  www.frankfurt-tourismus.de

Oktoberfest 2012 – Munich
September 22 – October 7,  2012: Oktoberfest gets bigger and better each year.  With 14 huge tents (maybe more) to choose from, how do you decide? You’ll need to check the website of each of the tents to see which ones you fancy.
Here’s some traditional Oktoberfest beer tents. >
See our Oktoberfest photos >
Website:  www.oktoberfest.de

Stuttgart Beer Festival  2012 – Canstatter Volkfest – Stuttgart
Sep 28 – Oct 14, 2012:  This Stuttgart Beer Festival is second only to the Oktoberfest in Munich in terms of size. It began in 1818 as a harvest festival following a famine and has since been taking  place at the end of September every year.  These days, it provides two weeks of fun with oompah bands in traditional costume, lots of beer inside the marquees and entertainment
Website:  www.cannstatter-volksfest.de

Mendiger-Gambrinusfest 2013 – Mendig
June 2013 (tbc):  Gambrinusfest takes place every 2 years and is the biggest beer festival in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Website: www.mendiger-gambrinusfest.de/

A visit to Germany is not complete without going to a Wine or a Beer Festival. There is plenty on offer so it’s necessary to plan well in order to get maximum coverage.

Did you find the wine and beer festival you were looking for?  Please leave me a comment.  If there are any other festivals you would like to see on this list, please also let me know.

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