Apple Wine Festival - August 10-19, 2012
Frankfurt’s apple wine culture has been playing an important role in the city’s social life for hundreds of years. Locals and visitors will once again be coming together in the Main metropolis to celebrate Frankfurt’s most popular beverage with their very own Apple Wine Festival, traditionally accompanied by an entertaining stage programme. Typical Frankfurt folklore and dialect poetry provide old-time amusement for both the young and young at heart, while nearby Hessian cult bands get their audiences singing and dancing in the streets. Relaxed lounge music is also on offer, providing the perfect atmospheric background for enjoying an unconventional apple wine cocktail.
Many excellent types of apple wine are available for tasting at the festival’s numerous trendy booths and traditional stalls. Typical apple wine made from time-honoured apple varieties are just as much on offer here as are the trendy mixed blends and popular apple wine cocktails. Festival visitors will also find an excellent selection of apple wine merchandise on sale at the Roßmarkt. Those of you interested in taking back your very own traditional apple wine “utensils” will find everything you need – from the typical ribbed apple wine glass to glass covers and, of course, the famous “bembel”, the blue-grey earthenware jug from which apple wine is traditionally served.
Location
Roßmarkt
Opening hours
Monday to Thursday: 11:00 am to 11:00 pm
Friday to Saturday: 11:00 am to midnight
Arrival via Frankfurt’s public transport system (RMV)
U-Bahn (underground) or S-Bahn (commuter train) to “Hauptwache” stop
Parking at nearby multi-story car parks
Parkhaus Goetheplatz, Goetheplatz 2 a
Parkhaus Hauptwache, Kornmarkt 10
Parkhaus Börse, Meisengasse
Parkhaus PalaisQuartier, Große Eschenheimer Str. 10
Frankfurt and its apple wine
Apple wine is the locals’ beverage of choice, a sort of Hessian national beverage. It combines the tradition and modernity for which Frankfurt has become so famous. Apple wine has many nicknames in the local vernacular, including “schoppe”, “äppler”, “stöffche” and “ebbelwoi”. It is available at local supermarkets in its industrially produced form and as a homemade variety, “brewed” throughout the region and served at hundreds of traditional apple wine pubs and special tasting events.
Like Goethe and the city’s famous skyline, apple wine stands for Frankfurt am Main. The colourful history of apple wine, however, goes back much farther than any other city symbol. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for example, were known to be great fans of this refreshing alcoholic beverage. Even the great Emperor Charlemagne was reputed to be an apple wine enthusiast. Later, in the 16th and 17th centuries, apple wine became a popular substitute for regular wine, which had in those times suffered greatly due to various phylloxera plagues. Once established among the local population, it quickly took up its position as Hessen’s most popular beverage, which it happily remains to this very day!
