The High-Altitude Wine and Food Festival Up in the Austrian Alps

They say don’t eat fish in the mountains. And yet, somehow, I’ve just returned from a long weekend in the Austrian Alps, full of fresh fish and fabulous wine. I fear I’ll never eat so well again.

At the helm of such a feast was the 5* luxury hotel Das Central in Sölden, which each April, as the skiing season comes to a close, hosts one of Austria’s most distinctive culinary events – the Wein am Berg festival. Now in its 23rd year, Wein am Berg, which quite aptly translates to wine on the mountain, is by nature as it is by name. The festival’s three day programme combines fine wine tastings, top-tier gastronomy, collaborative dinners and parties, and curated alpine adventures, way up in the mountains. 

This year, guests enjoyed wine from over 30 estates. Billecart-Salmon and Bernard Magrez arrived at Das Central from Champagne and Bordeaux, respectively; Bodegas Iberian from Spain; and Niepoort Vinhos from Douro, Portugal. Austrian vintners represented the entire country – Schmelz from Wachau, Velich from Burgenland, Hannes Sabthi from Styria, Bründlmayer from Kamptal, while Das Central shared its own wine, Pino 3000, conceived together with three internationally renowned winemakers from three different countries, matured in oak barrels at 3,048 metres above sea level at Das Central’s restaurant Ice Q. Grapes varied – Grüner Veltliner, Blaufränkisch, Riesling, Pinot Noir – terroirs and techniques too, but expertise was unwavering. 

Over the past two decades, Wein am Berg has become quite the rendezvous for wine makers across Europe. “It’s like the Glastonbury equivalent for wine,” said one guest. A joke, perhaps, but equally not. “It is the wine event of all wine events, all the best winemakers in Austria attend,” says Bianca Schmelz from estate Schmelz Weine, as I sip a pour of her delicious Riesling. “It’s simply a top-class event – wine tasting on the glacier, combined with fantastic Austrian cuisine and breathtaking mountain scenery.”

Many people return year after year, Das Central general manager Michael Walsch tells me. “Over time, Wein am Berg has become a community as much as an event,” he says. “Guests reconnect with friends, producers and familiar faces every season, and we see real friendships that have grown out of the event over more than two decades.” A homecoming, as winemaker and sommelier Andreas Wickhoff puts it.

Guests arrived at Innsbruck airport on Thursday morning, navigated through the almighty mountainscapes, visible from the plane’s windows, by an expert pilot. A fleet of Range Rovers zipped attendees down the scenic roads to the hotel, where we were left to check in and test out the facilities. Multiple swimming pools, indoor and outside, including the striking glass-bottomed rooftop infinity pool; two gyms, a yoga studio; the summit spa; multifold saunas (most rooms have their own private saunas); steam rooms; a cold plunge. If you didn’t think it could get colder than a cold plunge, it can, with the cryotherapy facility that takes guests down to -100 degrees celsius for a range of benefits from anti-aging to weight loss. Remarkable panoramas of the snowy peaked alps seemed visible from every angle. Then there’s Das Central’s wine cellar, with over 30,000 bottles. 

The event kicked started with a tasting session by all attending winemakers, an apéro which was accompanied by Goaskas from culinary partner Martin Grüner and fresh tuna from Fisch Peer. A three-course dinner, patisseries from Andre Sibar and a round of sweet wines followed, before everyone moved into the living lounge for a roulette night – all proceeds going to local charities. 

Mornings were punctuated with a light hangover, quickly cured by a refreshing run on the world champion-approved Sölden slopes, which were decorated with sculptures by resident artist Alexander Maria Lohmann. “There is a very particular energy at the end of the ski season – the days are longer, the sun is higher, the light is softer and there is a real sense of celebration in the mountains,” says Walsch. “Spring skiing combined with great wine and exceptional gastronomy creates a contrast that is difficult to find anywhere else.” Skiers and non-skiers reconvened at the Giggijoch for raclette and wine tastings on the glacier at altitudes of nearly 3,000 metres (which is to say it went to your head). As you can imagine, skiers returned to the slopes with more confidence. 

Between the glacier, the mountain restaurant and the hotel, 13 outstanding culinary personalities prepared lunch and dinner each day, shared among them were seven Michelin Stars and 22 Gault & Millau Toques. The line-up included Austria’s own Roland Huber of Esslokal in Hadersdorf am Kamp, Dávid Rózsa of Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald in Switzerland, and London’s Andy Beynon of Behind, among others. 

Menus re-interpreted Alpine cuisine, many chefs choosing to focus on fish from freshwater sources nearby – bonito, char, trout, pike. Fabio Birlmair’s Tyrolean-style ravioli with Bavarian prawns and char tartare, and Rózsa’s pike-perch sashimi with osietra caviar and a bonito and celery dressing were hugely popular.

Beynon served scallops with smoked kippers and pikes roe, and a vibrant trout sashimi with fresh jalapenos (both personal favourites). He put his own spin on the mighty prawn toast with Gambero Rosso di Mazara prawns from Sicily. “Up in the mountains, you could expect heavier meat-led cooking, but freshwater fish is abundant locally,” Beynon says. “Fish like trout or char are naturally soft and fine, so they suit lighter cooking, even serving raw. The flavour is cleaner and more delicate than most sea fish. You don’t get that strong salinity, and the more subtle, sweeter notes give you room to build a dish that doesn’t feel heavy.”

For dessert: pastries, pralines, artisanal ice lollies, compotes, tarts, coffee and cheese so plentiful they took over an entire room. And there was caviar. Lots and lots of caviar. 

On the final evening, guests headed up to the Giggijoch Valley restaurant for the Big Bottle Party, where winemakers showcased their finest limited Methuselah and Salmanazars and chefs exceeded expectations once again with another evening of fantastic food. I couldn’t eat another morsel. “Seeing chefs, winemakers and guests sitting together late into the evening, sharing bottles and stories long after the official programme has ended, is always incredibly rewarding,” says Walsch. “For me personally, those informal moments are often more meaningful than any single tasting or dinner.” The night ended with a firework display on the mountainside and closing remarks by hotel owner and host Angelika Falkner, with special thanks to all those who contributed – it was quite the finale. 

Between tastings, there was plenty of time to unwind in the spa facilities. Other guest activities included the option of a helicopter ride above the mountains, visiting the local aquadome at the mountain’s foot in a neighbouring town, or taking a gondola up to the Ice Q restaurant on the Gaislachkogl mountain, which you might recognise from the 2015 James Bond film Spectre (Ice Q featured as the Hoffler Klinik medical facility). We also hit the local night club, Kata Pult, which seemed to be open all night long. 

Wein am Berg is as scenic as it is decadent and debauched. It was a weekend of quality wine, gourmet food and luxury celebrations, with a wonderful mix of people: wine producers, sommeliers, chefs and attendees alike. But to put it so simply is to do it a disservice. Never without a glass of wine or a mouthful of caviar, extremities like prunes having spent hours bathing in bodies of warm water, I couldn’t have dreamt it better. 

Book tickets to Wein am Berg 2027, which will take place on 22-25 April, here. Or visit Das Central Hotel this summer for an itinerary of hiking, alpaca yoga and relaxing at the summit spa.