Neustadt-Haardt (Mandelring)annual, seven days from the Friday before Ascension Day to Ascension Day, so late April or May (2024: 3 to 9 May; 2026: 8 to 14 May; in 2027 Ascension Day falls on 6 May)7 days
Seven-day street wine festival in Haardt, a village of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, with a festival strip along the Mandelring where wine is poured at the wine estates and stalls and regional specialities are served. The district head opens it with the Haardt wine royalty on the first Friday evening in the school yard, and it ends on Ascension Day with a wheelbarrow race, with live music in the evenings. The 2026 edition was the 71st.
Ilbesheim (Kleine Kalmit)annual, fourth weekend of July, Saturday and Sunday with a Friday evening party (2026: 25 and 26 July; 2027: 24 and 25 July)2 days
Two-day wine festival in the vineyards along the Affenschaukel path below the Kleine Kalmit in Ilbesheim, where winegrowers of the association Gast & Wein pour Ilbesheim wines and serve dishes such as Flammkuchen, burgers and tapas. Local clubs add further food, and an after-work party opens the weekend on Friday evening. The Pfalz tourism listing records that Pfalzwein e.V. named it Schönstes Weinfest der Pfalz in 2004.
Bad Duerkheim (Wurstmarktplatz)annual, two weekends starting the second Friday in September10 days
A 1417-founded September fair that draws around 600,000 visitors to Bad Duerkheim across two long weekends. More than 30 Schubkarchstaende grower stands pour Pfalz Riesling and Spaetburgunder at the foot of the Michelsberg.
Tip: Skip the fairground rides and head straight for the Schubkarchstaende behind the main fair; the grower-direct stands are the wine-quality heart of the Wurstmarkt.
Deidesheim (Altstadt)annual, second weekend in August5 days
Deidesheim's village wine fair runs for five August days through the half-timbered Altstadt, with stands from the local first-growth estates including Bassermann-Jordan, Reichsrat von Buhl, von Winning and other Mittelhaardt growers.
Tip: Walk the festival as a slow tasting trail across the village; Deidesheim is small enough to compare three or four top Mittelhaardt growers on foot in a single evening.
Forst an der Weinstrasseannual, first weekend in August4 days
A first-weekend-in-August village wine festival in Forst, the basalt-soil home of Jesuitengarten, Pechstein, Ungeheuer and Kirchenstueck, with stands from Mosbacher, Acham-Magin, Eugen Mueller and other Forster growers.
Tip: Time the Saturday afternoon for a side-by-side tasting at adjacent grower stands; Forst is the basalt benchmark of the Pfalz and the village wines share the same volcanic spine.
Wachenheim (Burgruine Wachtenburg)annual, second weekend in July4 days
A July castle-and-wine festival on the ruined Wachtenburg above Wachenheim, with stands from the village's first-growth estates including Dr. Buerklin-Wolf and Karl Schaefer pouring estate Riesling under the Mittelhaardt hilltop.
Tip: Climb the Wachtenburg before sunset for the festival's strongest view; the ruin looks straight down the Mittelhaardt with Forst and Deidesheim laid out below.