Stuttgart's vineyards are a major attraction. Most of the vines are planted along the Neckar, but grapes also grow in the centre of the city. Stuttgart has a long viticultural tradition. The earliest evidence dates from 1108, when Monk Ulrich gifted vineyards in Stuttgart to Blaubeuren Monastery. In the 17th Century, the city was still the third largest viticultural community in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Viticulture remained one of the city's principal sources of income right up into the 19th Century.

Vineyards along the Neckar. Photo: City of Stuttgart

Viticulture remains very important in Stuttgart today. The city boasts five wine growing cooperatives, its own urban vineyard and a number of private wine producers. The most frequently grown grapes are Trollinger, Lemberger and Pinot Noir, but white wines such as Riesling, Rivaner, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Traminer are also produced.

Photo: City of Stuttgart

There is plenty to experience in Stuttgart in association with wine: in the city's Viticulture Museum in Uhlbach, visitors learn all about viticulture from Roman times to the present day. The Stuttgart "Weinwanderweg" wine path runs alongside picturesque hillside sites, idyllic spots, viewpoints and interesting sights, and of course past the popular "Besen" grape harvest restaurants, where a broom above the door indicates that winegrowers are offering their own wine for sale. At the end of August, wine lovers from around the world meet to down a quarter litre of wine (ein "Viertele zu schlotzen") in good company and a cordial atmosphere at the Stuttgart Wine Village Festival.

• Weinbaumuseum Stuttgart - Viticulture Museum
• Stuttgarter Weindorf - Stuttgart Wine Village Festival
• http://www.stuttgarter-weinwanderweg.de (in German)

The Stuttgart ''Weinwanderweg''. Photo: City of Stuttgart

More about the wine city:

• Stuttgart Marketing: Wine in Stuttgart