Germany Presenting Over 1,000 Wine Festivals
Canadians travelling through any of the 13 wine regions of Germany this Summer and Fall are never far from a weekend Wine Festival, a special attraction in many of the towns and villages of German wine country.
Over a six-month period, more than 1,000 weekend festivals are scheduled – a vast majority of which take place are in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Pfalz, Rheingau and Baden Regions, popular travel routes for many Canadian visitors.
One of the main activities common to all Wine Festivals is a comparative tasting of local producers’ wines. Because some villages and towns host several festivals over the course of a season, or simply to expand the appeal of their local Festival event, many adopt added themes or features such as “Sektfest” (sparkling wine festival) or “Rieslingweinfest” (Riesling Festival) and Weinfest mit Feuerwerk (wine festival with fireworks).
Each Festival has a style and personality as unique as the wine community itself.
All Festivals are casual affairs and take place in the evening outdoors and on closed-off streets or sections in the centre of a town or village. With most Festivals, too, there is a music component for both listening and dancing.
For the villages or towns, Wine Festivals bring together neighbours in a happy celebration, provide sampling of a wine producer neighbour’ wines and offer local style foods prepared by vendors. And with open, free seating around the wine and food stations, it is also a great way to meet people in the community who also enjoy meeting visitors from abroad.
To help you identify a Festival closest to your travels in Germany, you can check the Festival schedule on the German wine web site: www.germanwines.de
A booklet listing all German Wine Festivals in 2005 is available – free of charge – from the German Wine Information Bureau. For your copy, please contact:
Email: GermanWineCanada@sympatico.ca
Telephone: 905-815-1581
May 31, 2005
Posted in: Germany