The German Wine Society Celebrates Oktober Weinfest on Saturday, October 17, 2026!
Dear German Wine Society Members and Friends,
It is a pleasure to announce that the German Wine Society’s Capital Chapter will once again be celebrating its Oktober Weinfest! This year we will be holding our fall harvest commemoration at the King Farm Community Center in Rockville, MD, where we have been hosting most of our New Vintage tastings in recent years and also held the Oktober Weinfest last year. We will be offering a bountiful spread of traditional German-style Binkert’s sausages, Oktoberfest treats from the Heidelberg Bakery such as pretzels and pretzel sandwiches, Oktoberfest cookies, potato salad and sauerkraut, and also homemade apple strudel. And we will be enjoying sixteen different German wines, the largest variety of wines in any of our events this year, including sparkling, red, and white dry, Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese wines, representing various top producers and eight of the thirteen wine regions of Germany – Mosel, Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Nahe, Ahr, Baden, Pfalz and Franken. Several German wine grapes will be included, including of course Riesling, the “Queen of German grapes,” and Scheurebe, Rivaner, Muskateller, and Spätburgunder. The price for this event is a very reasonable $89 for members, and $97 for non-members. Please plan to join us to share our love of German wine!
Registration for this event must be received by Monday, October 12, 2026.
Our “Oktober Weinfest” is being held just after the famed Munich Oktoberfest in Germany., which runs this year from September 19 through October 4. The fall harvest in Germany is not just celebrated with beer. There are also numerous wine festivals in the fall, including: the Moselfest Winningen, Germany’s oldest wine festival, from late August to early September; the Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt in Bad Dürkheim, the world’s largest wine festival, in September; the German Grape Harvest Festival in Neustadt in late September and early October; the Mainzer Weinmarkt in Mainz; the Stuttgarter Weindorf in Stuttgart; and the Ingelheimer Rotweinfest from late September to early October. We hope to bring you a flavor of all these wonderful traditions!
The Oktober Weinfest event will take place on the evening of Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 6:00 pm to 9 pm, with admission beginning at 5:30 pm to the King Farm Community Center at 300 Saddle Ridge Circle, Rockville, MD 20850. Please park in the lot behind the swimming pool adjacent to the community center, and then come around to the front of the circle (not through the pool area) to enter the building. The Shady Grove Metro station on the Red Line is right across MD-355. The King Farm shuttle bus does not run on weekends, so if you are arriving by Metro, please plan on taking a cab, or walking from the station, which takes about 20 minutes.
The format for our event will be informal. Rather than pouring wines in a set sequence with a presentation, we will have all the wines available at wine tables, and participants can sample them in whatever sequence desired, apart from the welcoming sekt. Feel free to discuss the wines with the experienced GWS members manning the tables and with the other guests! Food will be served at a buffet, and while there will be tables and chairs for all guests, there will not be any set seating; guests can arrange themselves as desired and can move around between the tables to meet with various people during the event. And while ample food will be provided, those who are interested in preparing and bringing a favorite German dish are encouraged to do so, with prior coordination with the event organizers. The cost of ingredients for such dishes can be reimbursed if receipts are provided and the organizers agree that the dishes are appropriate.
THE WINES:
Welcome Wine – NV Dr. Loosen “Dr. L” Sparkling Riesling, Mosel
Mosel and Rheingau Prädikat Level Rieslings:
2021 Vols-Ayler Kupp Riesling Spätlese, Mosel
2023 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett, Mosel
2024 A.J. Adam Dhroner Hofberg Riesling Kabinett, Mosel
2024 Spreitzer Oestricher Lenchen Riesling Kabinett, Rheingau
2024 J.J. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese, Mosel
2024 J.J. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese, Mosel (half bottles)
Dry and Off-Dry White Wines from Nahe, Franken, Pfalz and Mosel:
2022 Emrich-Schönleber Rivaner Trocken, Nahe
2023 Helmut Hexamer Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling Quartzit, Nahe
2023 Wirsching-Iphöfer Scheurebe Trocken, Franken (in Bocksbeutel)
2023 Rebholz Ökonomierat Muskateller Trocken, Pfalz
2024 Peter Lauer Ayler Kupp AYL Riesling Erste Lage Premier Cru (Trocken), Mosel
2024 Stein “Weihwasser” Riesling Feinherb, Mosel
Red Wines from Ahr, Baden and Rheinhessen:
2022 Meyer-Näkel Dernau Blue Slate Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), Ahr
2023 Shelter Winery Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) Lovely Lilly, Baden
2023 Kühling-Gillot Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), Rheinhessen
If you have any questions about the event, including registration and membership status, please email the organizer, Carl Willner, who is President and Secretary of the GWS Capital Chapter, at carl.willner1@verizon.net.
To register and pay by PayPal, go to our chapter website: germanwinesocietydc.org. If you do not already have an account on our website, you will need to set one up. We can only accept electronic payment by PayPal, not credit cards or other electronic transfers. If you are including others in your electronic registration, please email the Secretary to let us know the names of your other guests for our registration list.. You can become a member or renew, if your membership is not current, together with your registration for this event by including an annual $35 dues payment (for an individual or a couple). Please go to the Shop page of the website to find the payment buttons for this event and for dues. If you have been a member of the GWS Capital Chapter in the past but are not sure of your current membership status, please email the chapter Secretary at the above e-mail to confirm your status.
To register and pay by check, detach and complete the form below, indicating all names of persons who will be coming, and mail it, with your check made out to the ‘German Wine Society’, to the Chapter President and Secretary, Carl Willner: 1014 Reserve Champion Drive, Rockville, MD 20850.
For this event, we are no longer requiring any special health precautions such as vaccination or wearing of masks when arriving. We do request that if you contract covid-19, flu, or another communicable illness, or test positive for such an illness, you refrain from attending the event and protect the health of others. We can refund payments if you notify us that you are not able to attend the event for this reason prior to the day of the event. Otherwise, refunds can only be made if the cancellation occurs prior to the event deadline.
All GWS members and guests are reminded that alcohol consumption can lead to intoxication. Members and guests should use public transportation to events, rely on a designated driver, or taste the wines rather than finish them.
If you no longer wish to receive our announcements, please reply to this email to the sender.
If registering by mail, please fill out and cut the reservation form below with your check – do not mail the entire notice.
GERMAN WINE SOCIETY OKTOBER WEINFEST – October 17, 2026