The Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt in Germany is the best wine festival in Europe, with the Budapest Wine Festival at #2 and Essência do Vinho Porto at #3. The order is based on published visitor totals first, then on partial crowd figures, then on history.
2027 dates not yet announced (the City of Vienna lists it for September 2027); 2026 ran September 26-27
Walking between Heurigen through vineyards inside a capital city
Pick by what you want
Biggest crowd
Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt
Best view
Budapest Wine Festival
Best for tasting
Essência do Vinho Porto
Most unusual
Haro Wine Battle
Free entry
Vienna Wine Hiking Day
The ranking
1
Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt
Answrs VerdictThe world’s largest wine festival, since 1417.
When: September 10-14 and 17-20, 2027Where: Wurstmarktplatz, Bad Dürkheim, Palatinate, GermanyVisitors: Over 600,000 a year (festival total), across 9 daysWine: 36 Schubkarchstände (traditional wine stands) pouring 300 wines and sparkling winesHistory: Traced back to 1417; billed as the largest wine festival in the world
Bad Dürkheim’s Wurstmarkt, traced back to 1417, runs September 10-14 and 17-20, 2027. Over 600,000 visitors a year sit at 36 Schubkarchstände pouring 300 Palatinate wines and sparkling wines across 9 days.
Go ifThe biggest wine festival there is, with Palatinate wine at long wooden tables
Skip ifYou want a quiet tasting rather than a funfair with rides and a beer-tent crowd
Why #1 over #2: Over 600,000 visitors a year dwarf the more than 29,000 who came to the Budapest Wine Festival over four days in 2026.
2
Budapest Wine Festival
Answrs VerdictHungary’s big wine festival in Buda Castle.
When: 2027 dates not yet announced; the 35th festival ran 9-12 September 2026Where: Buda Castle, Budapest, HungaryVisitors: More than 29,000 over four days in 2026 (festival total)Wines: 1,458 wine listings recorded across the stands in 2026Charity auction: More than HUF 17 million raised at the 26th Charity Wine Auction (2026)
The 35th Budapest Wine Festival filled Buda Castle on 9-12 September 2026, drawing more than 29,000 visitors over four days to 1,458 wine listings. 2027 dates are not yet announced.
Go ifHungarian and international wines in the setting of Buda Castle
Skip ifYou need confirmed 2027 dates before you book
Why #2 over #3: More than 29,000 visitors over four days in 2026 top the 20,000 visitors Essência do Vinho reports for a single edition.
3
Essência do Vinho Porto
Answrs VerdictPorto’s four-day wine show in the Palácio da Bolsa.
When: February 18-21, 2027Where: Palácio da Bolsa, Porto, PortugalVisitors: 20,000 visitors in a single editionWines: 4,000 wines from 500 producers, with 40 guided tastingsSince: First edition in 2004
Essência do Vinho, held since 2004, returns to Porto’s Palácio da Bolsa on February 18-21, 2027, with 4,000 wines from 500 producers and 40 guided tastings. It reports 20,000 visitors in a single edition.
Go ifTasting Portuguese wine indoors in Porto in winter
Skip ifYou want an outdoor summer festival
Why #3 over #4: Essência do Vinho publishes a whole-edition total of 20,000 visitors; Neustadt’s only published crowd figure is its parade day, about 70,000 people along the route.
4
Deutsches Weinlesefest Neustadt
Answrs VerdictNeustadt’s German Wine Harvest Festival, dating back to 1909.
When: 2027 dates not yet announced; 2026 ran 25 September to 12 OctoberWhere: Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Palatinate, GermanyParade crowd: About 70,000 people lined the route of the 2026 Großer Winzerfestumzug (parade day only, not a festival total)Parade: 96 entries in 2026, with floats and brass bandsHistory: Goes back to 1909; hosts the final of the election of the German Wine Majesty
Neustadt’s German Wine Harvest Festival goes back to 1909 and hosts the final of the election of the German Wine Majesty. In 2026 it ran 25 September to 12 October, and about 70,000 people lined the route of its parade of 96 entries. 2027 dates are not yet announced.
Go ifA long autumn wine festival with a big parade and the German Wine Majesty final
Skip ifYou only have a summer weekend
Why #4 over #5: About 70,000 people lined its 2026 parade alone, while Bordeaux publishes tasting passes sold (35,500 in 2025) and held no 2026 edition.
5
Bordeaux Fête le Vin
Answrs VerdictBordeaux’s riverside wine festival returns in July 2027.
When: July 7-11, 2027, alongside the Tall Ships RacesWhere: On the quays along the Garonne, Bordeaux, FranceTasting passes: 35,500 tasting passes sold in 2025 (passes, not a visitor count)Growers: Some 1,200 winegrowers and merchants from 80 appellations (2024)2026: No 2026 edition; the budget went to 2027
Bordeaux Fête le Vin skipped 2026 and returns to the Garonne quays on July 7-11, 2027, alongside the Tall Ships Races. In 2025 it sold 35,500 tasting passes, and some 1,200 winegrowers and merchants from 80 appellations took part in 2024.
Go ifBordeaux wine on the riverfront, with tall ships in 2027
Skip ifYou want a festival every year: there was no 2026 edition
Why #5 over #6: It publishes a crowd measure, 35,500 tasting passes sold in 2025; the Saint-Émilion Jurade publishes none for the Ban des Vendanges.
6
Saint-Émilion Ban des Vendanges
Photo: Palauenc05 / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Answrs VerdictSaint-Émilion’s harvest proclamation by the red-robed Jurade.
When: 2027 dates not yet announced; usually the 3rd Sunday of September (2026: Sunday 20 September)Where: Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux, FranceWhat: The Jurade proclaims the start of the harvest; with the Spring Festival, one of its two main events in Saint-ÉmilionJurade: Founded more than 800 years ago; 140 Jurats
In Saint-Émilion, the red-robed Jurade, founded more than 800 years ago, proclaims the start of the harvest at the Ban des Vendanges, usually on the 3rd Sunday of September. In 2026 it fell on Sunday 20 September; 2027 dates are not yet announced.
Go ifA historic harvest ceremony in the wine village of Saint-Émilion
Skip ifYou want hours of open tastings like a big festival
Why #6 over #7: The Jurade behind it was founded more than 800 years ago, long before the Hospices de Beaune auction began in 1859.
7
Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction
Answrs VerdictBurgundy’s charity auction, held since 1859.
When: 2027 dates not yet announced; the 166th sale is Sunday 15 November 2026 at 14:30Where: Les Halles de Beaune, Burgundy, FranceTradition: Held each year on the third Sunday of November; billed as the most famous charity sale in the worldWine: 53 historic cuvées from a 60-hectare estateSince: An annual charity auction since 1859
The Hospices de Beaune sells 53 historic cuvées from its 60-hectare estate at a charity auction held since 1859. The 166th sale is Sunday 15 November 2026 at Les Halles de Beaune; 2027 dates are not yet announced.
Go ifBurgundy’s famous charity wine auction and its weekend
Skip ifYou want a casual tasting festival
Why #7 over #8: An annual auction since 1859, it is older than Impruneta’s Festa dell’Uva, born in 1926.
8
Festa dell'Uva Impruneta
Answrs VerdictOne of Italy’s oldest festivals, since 1926.
When: 2027 dates not yet announced; held every year on the last Sunday of SeptemberWhere: Piazza of Impruneta, near Florence, Tuscany, ItalySince: 1926; 2026 marked its centenaryParade: Floats built by volunteers from the town’s 4 rioni (districts)
Impruneta’s Festa dell’Uva, born in 1926, marked its centenary in 2026. Every year on the last Sunday of September, floats built by the town’s 4 rioni parade through the piazza near Florence; 2027 dates are not yet announced.
Go ifA Tuscan grape-harvest parade near Florence
Skip ifYou want a large tasting hall full of producers
Why #8 over #9: Born in 1926, it is older than the Haro Wine Battle, first mentioned by that name in 1949.
9
Haro Wine Battle
Photo: BigSus / CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
Answrs VerdictRioja’s wine fight in the hills above Haro.
When: Every June 29, the feast of San PedroWhere: Riscos de Bilibio, about 6 kilometers north of Haro, La Rioja, SpainWine thrown: About 30,000 litres in 2026Status: Declared a Festival of National Tourist InterestNamed: First mentioned as the “Batalla del vino” in 1949
Every June 29, the feast of San Pedro, crowds in white climb to the Riscos de Bilibio about 6 kilometers north of Haro to soak each other in red wine, about 30,000 litres of it in 2026. The battle was first mentioned by name in 1949.
Go ifGetting soaked in Rioja red in a crowd dressed in white
Skip ifYou want to drink the wine rather than wear it
Why #9 over #10: It publishes a measure of its scale, about 30,000 litres of wine in 2026; Vienna’s Wine Hiking Day publishes no crowd figure.
10
Vienna Wine Hiking Day
Photo: Tauralbus from Wien, Austria / CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Answrs VerdictA free walking wine weekend in Vienna’s vineyards.
When: 2027 dates not yet announced (the City of Vienna lists it for September 2027); 2026 ran September 26-27Where: Vienna’s vineyards, on four routes in districts 16, 19, 21 and 23Entry: FreeLongest route: 10.8 km, from Neustift am Walde to Nussdorf
The City of Vienna’s free Wine Hiking Day ran September 26-27, 2026, on four routes through districts 16, 19, 21 and 23, the longest 10.8 km from Neustift am Walde to Nussdorf. The city lists it for September 2027; exact 2027 dates are not yet announced.
Go ifWalking between Heurigen through vineyards inside a capital city
Skip ifYou do not want to walk
How we ranked these
We ranked festivals that publish a whole-festival visitor total first, then those that publish only a partial crowd measure (a parade-day crowd or tasting passes sold), then the rest by history. Dates come from each festival’s own site; where 2027 dates are not out yet, we say so. Three picks from the earlier version of this list were replaced: the Alba White Truffle Fair is a truffle fair rather than a wine festival, and we could not find a festival called the Porto Wine Lodges Festival or the Saint-Émilion Wine Festival, so Porto is now represented by Essência do Vinho and Saint-Émilion by the Jurade’s Ban des Vendanges. Facts are taken from each maker's own published information; check the official site before you buy.
Questions people ask
When is the Budapest Wine Festival 2027?
2027 dates are not yet announced. The 35th Budapest Wine Festival ran 9-12 September 2026 at Buda Castle and drew more than 29,000 visitors over four days.
What is the biggest wine festival in Europe?
The Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt in Bad Dürkheim, Germany. It draws over 600,000 visitors a year across 9 days and is billed as the largest wine festival in the world.
When is the Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt 2027?
September 10-14 and 17-20, 2027, on the Wurstmarktplatz in Bad Dürkheim.
Is Bordeaux Fête le Vin happening in 2027?
Yes. Bordeaux Fête le Vin returns July 7-11, 2027, on the quays, at the same time as the Tall Ships Races. There was no 2026 edition.
Latest published crowd figure (people; Neustadt = parade day only) at a glance
Essência do Vinho Porto20,000 people
Budapest Wine Festival29,000 people
Deutsches Weinlesefest Neustadt70,000 people
Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt600,000 people
Latest published crowd figure (people; Neustadt = parade day only), as published by each maker. Picks without a published figure are left off.
