All activities / Wine / Spirits Education / Vaduz
Wine / Spirits Education in Vaduz
The capital of Liechtenstein, a small riverside town on the Rhine below the hilltop Vaduz Castle, home to the principality's cluster of national museums, the Prince's art collection and the pedestrian Stadtle where the country's cultural institutions sit within a few minutes' walk.
Why here
Vaduz sits on one of the warmest wine slopes in the upper Rhine Valley, and the grape here is Blauburgunder, the local name for Pinot Noir, ripened by the warm foehn wind that funnels up the valley. The signature address is the Hofkellerei, the court winery of the reigning Prince, whose four hectare Herawingert vineyard rises right behind the capital and whose cellar in the centre of town runs a public tasting twice a day where you walk in and taste the princely Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. A short step away is Harry Zech, the country's first biodynamic and Demeter certified grower, farming small parcels in Vaduz itself. Between a princely estate and a natural winemaker you can taste the full range of a tiny alpine wine country in an afternoon on foot, spirits and gin included.
Best months
The Hofkellerei runs scheduled public tastings on weekday afternoons and Saturdays and takes walk-ins for small groups, with larger groups by appointment. Harry Zech and the other small growers receive visitors by prior telephone arrangement. Harvest and the liveliest cellar season is autumn, roughly September and October, but tastings run year round. Guided winery tours pairing several growers are offered from about May to October.
Getting there & around
The Hofkellerei tasting room is on Feldstrasse in central Vaduz, a short walk from the museum mile, so it slots straight into a day in the capital. Harry Zech's cellar is a few minutes away in the north of the country and is visited by appointment. There is no train to Vaduz; arrive by bus or car, and note that tastings involve alcohol, so use the bus network or a designated driver.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate
Schools & guides (2)
Harry Zech Weinbau
OutfitterHarry Zech Weinbau is Liechtenstein's first and only biodynamic winery, farmed to Demeter guidelines since 2014 across about 2.7 hectares of small parcels in Vaduz, Mauren and Bendern. Oenologist Harry Zech, who trained to HTL diploma level and took over the estate in the winter of 1997/98, makes a range of organic whites, a rose, several reds and a sparkling wine with no additions in the cellar. The winery receives visitors and tasting groups by prior telephone appointment in its event room.
Hofkellerei des Fuersten von Liechtenstein
OutfitterThe Hofkellerei is the court winery of the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, its cellar in central Vaduz working the four hectare Herawingert vineyard that rises directly behind the capital on one of the best south-west slopes in the Rhine Valley. It makes Pinot Noir, known locally as Blauburgunder, and Chardonnay, and runs a public tasting twice a day from Monday to Saturday, where visitors taste the princely wines and regional gin and whisky. Small groups can join without booking.