The Pfalz wine industry's regional showcase in Mannheim, a ten-day June fair on the Kapuzinerplanken with around 30 grower stands pouring Pfalz Riesling, Weissburgunder and Spaetburgunder to the urban Rhine-Neckar crowd.
Tip: Mannheim's wine week is the easiest way to compare Pfalz growers without driving the Weinstrasse; pick a single Friday evening and walk the planken end to end.
Address: Kapuzinerplanken, 68161 Mannheim, Germany, Pfalz
A late-May wine market at the northern start of the Deutsche Weinstrasse in Bockenheim, opening the Pfalz wine festival season under the Haus der Deutschen Weinstrasse arch that marks kilometre zero of the route since 1995.
Tip: Start the Pfalz wine year at the Bockenheim arch and drive south down the Weinstrasse afterwards; the kilometre-zero stone makes the strongest opening photograph of the season.
A rotating weekend tasting stand in the Kurpark at Bad Duerkheim, run from spring to autumn by a different Pfalz grower each weekend. The Weinprobierstand is the easiest year-round way to taste Pfalz wines outside a single estate.
Tip: Check the published rota before you go; the rotating grower changes weekly, so a planned visit lines you up with a specific Mittelhaardt or Suedliche Weinstrasse estate.
Three days of cellar tastings in Wachenheim's old town in late April, with growers including Dr. Buerklin-Wolf, Karl Schaefer and J L Wolf opening private barrel cellars under the Wachtenburg ruin for guided flights and barrel samples.
Tip: Buy the all-cellar pass at the tourist office; Wachenheim's cellars are spread across the Altstadt, and the pass lets you taste at every grower in a single afternoon.
The traditional Pfalz wine-season opener, a late-March Mandelbluetenfest in Gimmeldingen under the pink almond blossom. Local growers pour estate Riesling and Weissburgunder along the Kurpfalzstrasse under flowering Mandelbaum trees.
Tip: Park in Neustadt and walk up the Mandelpfad to Gimmeldingen; the trail through the almond avenues is the festival's headline approach.
The German harvest festival in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, running across the first ten days of October. A wine market on the Marktplatz pours Pfalz Riesling and Spaetburgunder, and the Deutsche Weinkoenigin is crowned in the final weekend.
Tip: Combine the second Saturday's harvest parade with the wine market; the parade winds through Neustadt with floats from every Mittelhaardt village.
Spring wine and art festival in Rhodt unter Rietburg on the Southern Weinstrasse, spread over the village's wine estates. About a dozen estates open on Friday for the Testival opening, where visitors choose from 48 wines in four categories to live music and reach four stations on foot or by the Schoppenbaehnel. On Saturday and Sunday visitors stroll through the village between the estates.
Pfaelzer Weinwoche Mannheim runs in June. These are the wine tours and tastings in Pfalz to book for the days around it; most cancel free up to 24 hours ahead.
Discover the world of organic wine on a guided tour of our family winery. Learn how organic viticulture works and enjoy four organic wines during a leisurely tasting session.
We are happy to share our wine knowledge with you and introduce you to our wines and our philosophy during the wine tasting and a tour of the historic wine cellar!
Experience Gimmeldingen bathed in festive lights: Enjoy 5 food pairings with fine sparkling wine & winemakers' mulled wines, and immerse yourself in Christmas traditio...
