Culinary Wine Days Piesport – Kellerfest

Where the Romans Pressed Grapes

Piesport on the Moselle has been a wine-growing village since antiquity. On the outskirts of the village stands a spectacular reconstructed Roman wine press facility, providing evidence of a large Roman wine-growing operation from the 4th century. The Piesporter Goldtröpfchen vineyard is now one of the most famous Riesling sites on the Middle Moselle. The Culinary Wine Days – also known as Kellerfest – celebrate this tradition every year in early October.

From Courtyard to Courtyard, from Cellar to Cellar

The concept is both simple and charming: over the weekend, Piesport's vintners open their courtyards and vaulted cellars. A signposted route leads from one winery to the next, with each courtyard offering its own wines for tasting, along with small dishes – sometimes Flammkuchen (flatbread), sometimes Federweißer and Zwiebelkuchen, sometimes Moselle regional platters with ham and sausage. The atmosphere is much more intimate than on large festival grounds: you stand in the cellar of a family business, the vintner pours personally and talks about the vintage.

Tour of the Roman Wine Press

A highlight is the opportunity to visit the reconstructed Roman wine press facility on the outskirts of the village – usually with a guided tour. Here, the ancient process of grape pressing is vividly understandable. The connection between living Moselle oenology today and historical wine archaeology is the festival's true strength.

Season Finale on the Ausoniusufer

The event stretches along the Ausoniusufer (Ausonius bank), named after the Roman poet Ausonius, who praised the Moselle in his didactic poem "Mosella" as early as the 4th century. With the end of the season, the steep slopes turn golden and red, the new vintage is freshly in the cellar – a perfect moment to experience the Moselle beyond the peak season.