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Golden autumn vineyards with the Palatinate Forest hills beyond
Fischer.H, CC BY-SA

Rhineland-Palatinate

Wine festivals in Rhineland-Palatinate: the Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt in the Palatinate and the Mainzer Weinmarkt, with official dates and access tips.

  • 2food festivals
  • 1culinary experience

Food festivals in Rhineland-Palatinate

Baroque Osteiner Hof facade in Mainz under a blue skyBerthold Werner, CC BY-SAWineAug 26 to Sep 5

Mainzer Weinmarkt

Mainz’s wine festival in the Stadtpark, over two long weekends: 26 to 29 August and 2 to 5 September 2027, with winemakers from Rheinhessen and beyond.MainzView
Aerial view of the Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt fairground with the giant wine barrel among stalls and ridesZonk43, CC BY-SAWineSep 10 to 20

Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt

Bad Dürkheim’s wine festival, 10 to 14 and 17 to 20 September 2027: Palatinate wines, sausages, fireworks, free entry and access tips.Bad DürkheimView

Culinary experiences in Rhineland-Palatinate

Bernkastel-Kues roofs and church tower beside the Moselle with steep vineyards behindBerthold Werner, Public domainWinery visit45 to 60 minutes

Mosel winery visits

Tastings at six Mosel estates, from Bernkastel to the Ruwer valley: 7 to 25 euros per person, and cellar tours with a tasting from 12.50 to 19 euros.Bernkastel-KuesView

Cities and towns in Rhineland-Palatinate

Bad Dürkheim rooftops and church spire above the vineyards seen from the VigilienturmAltera levatur, CC BY-SA1 listing

Bad Dürkheim

Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt
Half-timbered houses on the market square of Bernkastel-Kues under a blue skyW. Bulach, CC BY-SA1 listing

Bernkastel-Kues

Mosel winery visits
Mainz Cathedral rising above the market square with stalls and a Heunen columnEdgar El, CC BY1 listing

Mainz

Mainzer Weinmarkt

Map of Rhineland-Palatinate

Food festivals in Rhineland-Palatinate, month by month

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. 1Aug
  9. 2Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

Rhineland-Palatinate, in south-west Germany, contains several of the country’s wine regions, among them the Palatinate (Pfalz) along the German Wine Route. From late summer into autumn, its towns and villages hold wine festivals, among them the Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt in Bad Dürkheim, which the town describes as the largest wine festival in the world. In Mainz, the state capital on the Rhine, the Mainzer Weinmarkt fills the Stadtpark over the last weekend of August and the first weekend of September, according to its organiser.

On the Mosel and the Ruwer, six estates pour tastings for 7 to 25 euros per person, and two cellar tours with a tasting cost 12.50 and 19 euros.

The Palatinate’s drinking culture has its own vocabulary. Wine is poured by the Schoppen, and the Dubbeglas, a dimpled glass made in quarter-litre and half-litre sizes, is the local festival glass: Bad Dürkheim even sells a Wurstmarkt edition as a souvenir.

Getting there

The region sits within reach of Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Karlsruhe, and the regional transport network (VRN) runs extra trains and buses to the big festivals, some of them until 3 am during the Wurstmarkt. Driving to a wine festival is possible, but parking fills fast and the organisers recommend public transport. Mainz is a train ride from Frankfurt Airport.