Spiez: Taste the Cooperative's Wine Below the Castle

There is no "Spiez Castle Winery". The wine below Schloss Spiez is made by a cooperative, Rebbau Spiez Genossenschaft, which local enthusiasts started in 1927 to bring back vineyards first mentioned in 1338 and lost to vine disease around 1900. The house says its cellar sits inside the castle walls; visitors go to its shop at Schlossstrasse 8. From Gstaad the train takes about 1 h 22 min, with a change at Zweisimmen. You can walk the free 958 m vineyard trail, taste at the door on Friday evenings and Saturday middays from May to October, find the last Spiez wine press, and finish with a photo below the castle.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Ride Down to the Lake, Then Walk to the Vines Adventure · Free

   Train from Gstaad, then a short walk from Spiez station to the vineyard.

   The honest way down from Gstaad is the train.

   Where: from Gstaad, hourly trains reach Spiez in about 1 h 22–23 min, most with a change at Zweisimmen (Saturday example: Gstaad 10:25, Zweisimmen 10:56, on at 11:02, Spiez 11:47); some GoldenPass Express runs go through without a change. By car it is about 54 km, roughly an hour; there is paid parking at the Regez car park on Seestrasse.

   What: from Spiez station walk Seestrasse towards Schloss Spiez. Just before the cooperative on Schlossstrasse, turn left into Rebbergweg. The Unteres Räbhüsli, where the vineyard trail starts, is at the start of the vineyard on the left; take a flyer there.

   How: the walk is free.

   Backup: Postauto line B 61 from the station to Eden Hotel, then 5 minutes on foot.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Walk the Vintner's Year on the Erlebnispfad Wine · Free

   A free vineyard loop with a short film at every panel.

   Twelve panels walk you through a vintner's year.

   Where: the Erlebnispfad Spiezer Rebberg starts and ends at the Unteres Räbhüsli, at the bottom of Rebbergweg.

   What: follow the 958 m loop, about 1 h 30 (the flyer says 1–2 hours), past 12 panels; scan each panel's QR code for its short film. The flyer's map marks a "Best selfie point" and benches along the way. Then walk down to the variety garden in Spiez bay, with 60 grape varieties.

   How: free, open every day, all day, in every season; paths are partly steep and uneven, so wear good shoes.

   Backup: the castle park, free all year, if the slopes are wet.

   Log Memory
3. 3 Taste the Category Winner at the Cooperative's Door Wine · Price: moderate

   Walk-in tasting at Schlossstrasse 8, Friday evenings and Saturday middays, May to October.

   Spiez's wine is made by a cooperative, not by the castle.

   Where: Rebbau Spiez Genossenschaft, Schlossstrasse 8, a few steps from the castle.

   What: walk in during the tasting hours and taste the Spiezer wines (a tasting is listed at CHF 20). Ask whether the Spiezer Riesling-Sylvaner is open: Riesling-Sylvaner is Switzerland's name for Müller-Thurgau, and the 2020 vintage won its category at the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse 2021. Set it beside the Spiezer Blauburgunder Barrique; Blauburgunder is the German-Swiss name for Pinot Noir. Driving? The house sells Spiezer Traubensaft, grape juice from Spiez grapes (33 cl, CHF 8), and the alcohol-free aaper* (33 cl, CHF 6); or come by train and leave the car.

   How: walk in, no booking.

   Backup: outside walk-in hours, book a tasting Monday to Saturday 10–19 in the Regez tasting room on +41 33 654 63 94 (Standard tasting of three wines: a flat CHF 350 for up to 14 people, CHF 25 per person from 15). Or buy a bottle at the shop, Monday to Friday 8.00–11.30, all year.

   Log Memory
4. 4 Find the Last Spiez Wine Press History · Free · Optional

   A free weekend museum a few minutes uphill from the door.

   The press that made the old Spiez wine survives a few minutes uphill.

   Where: the Heimat- und Rebbaumuseum, Spiezbergstrasse 48.

   What: the museum keeps the last surviving Spiez press barn, the Trüel, with its large grape press, the original wine cellar and the workshop of the last Spiez coopers. Find the press, then do the sum: the Historical Lexicon of Switzerland gives 1338 for the first mention of Spiez's vineyards; vine diseases ended them around 1900; growers started again from 1927.

   How: open Saturday and Sunday 14–17 from 9 May to 25 October 2026; museums.ch lists entry as free.

   Backup: outside these hours, go on to the castle park (step 5), free all year.

   Log Memory
5. 5 Make Your Photo Below Bubenberg's Castle History · Free

   The free castle park, a statue and the photo that ends the day.

   End the day where the castle's owners looked out over the lake.

   Where: the Kastanienterrasse (chestnut terrace) in the free castle park, at the statue of Adrian von Bubenberg.

   What: the castle's own history says Johann II von Bubenberg bought Spiez on 29 October 1338, the same year the Historical Lexicon of Switzerland gives for the first mention of the vineyards. The tower behind you was built shortly after 1241. Make your photo memory here: castle, vines and lake in one frame.

   How: the park is free and open all year, round the clock. From 1 May to 31 October the museum (adults CHF 12; free with a Swiss Travel Pass) lets you climb the tower above it for a 360° view, and the castle café pours the cooperative's wine by the glass.

   Backup: none needed.

   Log Memory

Insider tips

• For two people the walk-in hours are the way in: a booked tasting is a flat CHF 350 for up to 14 people.

• Driving? The house sells Spiezer Traubensaft, a grape juice from Spiez grapes, and the alcohol-free aaper*. Or take the train and leave the car.

• With a Swiss Travel Pass the castle museum and its tower view are free.

• The Spiezer Zügli road train does not run on Saturdays; walk the 15 minutes from the station instead.