The yearly grape harvest is considered auspicious for nations with a history of viniculture. The wine regions of Europe come to life with celebrations that mark the end of summer and activities that highlight local produce and heritage.

Harvest season is one of the greatest times to travel to the continent for wine enthusiasts, foodies, and cultural travelers. According to my recommendations and those of other travel writers, this list includes the top destinations in Europe to visit during the grape harvest, including both well-known and lesser-known wine areas.

Depending on the temperature, grape types, and a plethora of other factors, the precise time of the wine harvest varies from nation to nation and area to area across Europe. The weather has a significant impact on when the harvest occurs each year.

In certain regions, the harvest season is long, while in others, the window of opportunity for harvesting grapes is relatively brief. In general, the best time to witness harvest festivities in full flow is between mid-September and mid-October. In the summer, the precise harvest dates are often determined and publicized.

In certain regions of Europe, celebrations and festivals with a wine theme begin as early as May and continue until November.

1. Slovenia

Trgatev, the annual grape harvest season, is one of the best times to visit Slovenia. As summer wanes, green Slovenia transitions to an autumnal palette and pickers take to their golden fields to collect the sun-ripened grapes.

Viticulture and wine-making is a sacred tradition in Slovenia, and the knowledge and techniques involved with hand-picking, crushing and fermenting grapes is passed down through families. During the harvest period, extended families, friends and neighbours assemble on vineyards to pitch-in. Many farms open their doors to tourists who wish to lend a hand.

The harvesting process is very auspicious and steeped in ritual. Days begin mid-morning when the heads of the household greet their guests and ceremoniously hand out special grape harvesting shears. Picking is accompanied by storytelling and singing, and in many vineyards, an accordion player is brought in to provide a backing track.

Slovenia has 14 separate wine districts spread across three official regions. In the warmer coastal area of Primorska, the harvest begins in late August. In Posavje and Podravje, picking starts later, around late September/October. Wine tastings in Bled and wine tours of the Vipava Valley are particularly enjoyable around this time. The Slovenian Wine Festival – the largest of many wine and food events on the country’s autumn calendar – is held in Ljubljana in November.

One of the best places to go for the wine harvest is Maribor in eastern Slovenia’s Lower Styria. Here, you’ll find Old Vine, which is featured in the Guinness World Records as the oldest grapevine in the world. The ceremonial harvesting of Old Vine takes place in October under a very steady, expertly trained pair of hands.

2. Kakheti, Georgia

The earliest archaeological evidence of wine-making was unearthed in Eastern Georgia’s Kakheti region, so it only makes sense that this Caucasus nation should feature prominently on any wine lover’s to-drink list.

It’s been around since at least the 6th millennium BC, thus the art of making and drinking wine is an inseparable part of Georgian of culture. It’s also closely intertwined with religion. The Cross of St. Nino, Georgia’s patron, is fashioned from a curled grape vine, and many monasteries and nunneries produce their own wine.

Georgia is best known for qvevri wines, made by fermenting grapes in a clay vessel that’s buried in the earth. This method is associated with skin-contact wines – tannin-enriched, deep-coloured and full-bodied amber and red wines. There are more than 400 types of grape found in Georgia, including popular Rkatsitel, Mtsvane and Saperavi. Many commercial wineries combine qvevri and European techniques, while families and small-scale wineries observe ancestral methods.

The wine harvest in Georgia starts in late September and runs through to November. Known as Rtveli, it’s a huge celebration marked with feasts, festivals and other events across the country. Tbilisoba, the New Wine Festival, transforms Tbilisi into a wine drinker’s paradise.

Read Also: The Ultimate Guide to Visiting New England in the Fall

Western Georgia produces some beautiful wines, but around 70% of the country’s grapes are grown in the east, making Kakheti the main harvest-season hub. Wineries throughout the Alazani Valley continue hosting their usual tours and tastings, and if you’re lucky, you might get an invite to participate in the picking.

Visitors can either join a wine-tasting tour from Tbilisi or go DIY, travelling to the town of Sighnaghi then exploring wine country by car.

3. La Rioja, Spain

La Rioja, a beautiful part of Northern Spain, is one of the country’s main wine regions. There are more than 500 wine estates in La Rioja, and many farms have tasting rooms that are open to visitors.

The best way to explore the area and to taste local wines is to follow one of the walking routes through the vineyards. Along the way, you can taste ripe grapes, witness the harvest, and stop at a couple of estates for wine tasting. Cycling wine tours are quite a popular activity for couples as well.

The harvest in La Rioja usually takes place in September. Logroño, the regional capital, is the best place to come for the wine harvest season.

Logroño is a gastronomical capital of Northern Spain, and the city is famous for its tapas bars where visitors can enjoy top quality local wines and delicious food.

Every year in mid-September, San Mateo Fiestas takes place in Logroño. Dedicated to the grape harvest, it’s a big celebration that attracts tourists from all over Europe. The main event is squeezing the must of the grapes in the traditional way – by pressing grapes with bare feet. The harvest celebration lasts for a couple of days.

Tempranillo is the most popular cultivar in La Rioja. Most local wines are 80-90% tempranillo (a dark grape used for full-bodied reds). Gran Reserva by La Rioja Alta estate and Viña El Pisón by Bodega Artadi are some of the most renowned wines of La Rioja.

4. South Styria, Austria

Harvest is the best time to visit South Styria in southern Austria, part of the ‘Green Heart of Austria’. The region produces some of the best crisp white wines Austria is known for. A road trip along the South Styrian wine road rewards you with breathtaking views, plenty of small-town wine festivals, and excellent local food.

The region is famous for its excellent aromatic white wines such as Gelber Muskateller and Chardonnay, or Morillon. But without a doubt, Sauvignon Blanc steals the tasting show.

The 44-mile long wine road begins near Ehrenhausen and winds through quaint towns, past inviting wine taverns, until you reach the end of the loop near Leutschach. The route is easy to follow and best explored over the course of a few slow-paced days (it’s ideal if you have your own car). The breathtaking scenery is reminiscent of Tuscany with lush rolling hills and vineyards bursting with fruit.

Everyone gets in the spirit at harvest time, enjoying roasted chestnuts and stürm wine – the first wine press of the season. Visit the Leibnitz Wine Festival in late September and stay overnight at one of the buschenshanks near Gamlitz. They serve their own wines along with colourful cold dish platters overflowing with cured meats, cheeses, and local specialties.

Plan on spending harvest time in South Styria, one of Europe’s great undiscovered wine destinations.

5. Colmar, France

France is one of the top wine-producing countries in the world. While Bordeaux is the most famous wine region in France, it’s far from the only French destination to tour vineyards and enjoy a wine harvest.

One of France’s best cities for wine heritage is Colmar in the French Alsace. The Alsatian region is known for producing white wines from the four ‘noble’ grapes of Alsace: Pinot Gris, Riesling, Muscat and Gewurztraminer. Riesling is the most planted grape in the region and Colmar is famous for dry Rieslings that have a higher alcohol content than Rieslings from Germany.

The best way to experience wine culture and the wine harvest of Colmar is to visit for the Colmar Wine Festival in late July. It’s a massive city-wide event where you can sample the famous white wines of Colmar in the picturesque city streets. The enchanting half-timber houses make a perfect backdrop for the celebration.

Colmar’s wine houses showcase the harvest from late July through to September each year, and you can enjoy wine tours and tastings year-round. A popular wine tasting venue is Domain Martin Jund, which offers an authentic tasting experience from a family-run purveyor that’s been a Colmar staple for generations.

One of the best things to do in Colmar is enjoy a tasting and follow it up with a delicious Alsatian meal. Like many European cultures, it’s impossible to have the full Alsatian experience without enjoying local wine and unique cuisine.

6. Tuscany, Italy

Tuscany is home to some of the most renowned wine districts in the world, including Chianti, Montepulciano and Vernaccia. Winemaking has been a tradition for hundreds of years in this area and is a huge part of the local culture, making a wine tasting in Italy a must-do for all oenophiles.

Vernaccia, which is produced in the hills around San Gimignano, was the very first wine to be granted the status of denominazione di origine controllata. This makes it illegal for wines produced anywhere else to be labeled as Vernaccia.

The harvest in Tuscany usually starts with the white grapes in mid to late August, and continues through to October. During these months, there are many harvest celebrations in the various wine districts. Just about every town will have its own harvest festival.

For example, in Greve, the Expo del Chianti Classico has been held annually in mid-September for the past 50 years. During the festival, there are many opportunities to taste Chianti wines as well as other local products.

While you’re there, visit the Querciabella winery, located just outside of Greve. Their wines are not only organic and biodynamic but are also among the best vegan wines in Tuscany.

If you’re wondering what could be non-vegan about wine, some winemakers use animal-based filters such as gelatin or casein to speed up the process of clarification. Another tipple worth seeking out is a Chianti DOCG Superiore called Vegante, produced by the Sensi winery in Lamporecchio.

7. Northern Serbia

This Balkan nation is an under-appreciated wine country. There are a few distinct Serbian wine regions that visitors can tour to get an appreciation for the country’s great wine tradition. The most famous wine from Serbia is Bermet, which was a favourite of the Austro-Hungarian elite and even served on the Titanic. This wine comes from the Srem wine region in Fruska Gora near Novi Sad. 

Bermet is a spiced wine, and the recipe is a closely guarded secret, held by just a few families in the village of Sremski Karlovski. It makes a great Serbian souvenir, as its quite hard to find outside the country.

Another important wine region in Serbia is Subotica-Horgoš, centred on the beautiful town of Subotica just a few kilometres from the Hungarian border. Wine tourism here is popular, especially combining wine tours with relaxing on Lake Palic and exploring the town’s art nouveau architecture.

Other important wine regions in Serbia include the Timok valley, Vršac, Šumadija, and Župa. For such a tiny country, you might be shocked to learn that there are 9 classified wine regions, with a push by the government to break these down into 22 distinct microclimates.

8. Santorini, Greece

Santorini is undoubtedly the jewel of the Aegean, but it is also steeped in history from its seafaring and trading history. One of the products that has been made and traded since prehistoric times in Santorini is its delicious crisp white wines.

The island has a highly volcanic soil and a warm, dry climate – plus, it’s completely free of the phylloxera grape disease. This means Santorini has older vines than the rest of Greece.

There are well over a dozen wineries and surprisingly, they are dotted all over the island. It can be hard choosing between the best wineries and wine tasting tours, but certainly the two most spectacular wineries are Santo and Venesanto wineries because you can sip a glass of wine while looking out at the volcano as the famous Santorini sunset.

Whilst Assytiko wine is definitely my favourite dry white Santorini wine, Vinsanto, Aidani and Athiri also have Santorini PDO status (Protected Designation of Origin).

Santorini vines are not grown on trellises and trained as in other places. They are shaped instead into a basket shape on the ground (called ambelia or kouloura) which protects them from fierce winds and the heat.

Santorini’s grape harvesting season is known as Vedema and is a non-stop party with pickers coming from all over the world in the middle of the tourist season. From late July until mid-September, the grapes are picked and trodden. The wine is kept in barrels until the 22nd of October, which is the Feast of St. Averkios.