Frankfurt's tart, still apple wine, poured from a stoneware Bembel into a ribbed Gerippte glass. Drink it pure, spritzed with sparkling water, or sweetened with lemonade if you must.

When Frankfurt's riverside vineyards faded, pressed apples took over, and by the 18th century Ebbelwoi was the city's daily drink. The service ritual is fixed: the grey salt-glazed Bembel jug, the diamond-cut Gerippte glass that grips greasy tavern fingers, and the deckel lid to claim your place. Sachsenhausen's taverns turned the drink into a civic institution, several still pressing their own, and autumn brings the young stages, sweet Süßer and part-fermented Rauscher, straight from the vats.

Where to eat Apfelwein in Frankfurt

4 editor picks for Apfelwein in Frankfurt, ranked by editorial score. All Frankfurt signature dishes · Apfelwein across every city.

  • Lorsbacher Thal

    Order A three-pour apfelwein flight chosen by the host, with Handkäs

    Lorsbacher Thal treats apfelwein like a cellar wine in Frankfurt's Große Rittergasse, 300-plus bottlings deep in a tavern running since 1803.

    DetailsDirections

  • Zur Buchscheer

    Order The estate pressing by the Schoppen, with Grüne Soße and eggs

    Zur Buchscheer is the Frankfurt tavern purists name first: apfelwein pressed on the premises since 1876, out in quiet leafy Sachsenhausen-Süd.

    DetailsDirections

  • Apfelwein Solzer

    Order The house pressing straight from the cellar, with schnitzel

    Apfelwein Solzer is Bornheim's fifth-generation cider house in Frankfurt, self-pressing since 1893 with a 300-seat garden off Berger Straße.

    DetailsDirections

  • Zum Rad

    Order The house-pressed apfelwein alongside Grüne Soße with boiled eggs

    Zum Rad has pressed its own apfelwein in the village lanes of Seckbach since 1806, a Frankfurt tavern courtyard most visitors never manage to find.

    DetailsDirections

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Make it at home

Serves Makes about 4.5 litres720 hrIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 6kg tart pressing apples, or 5 litres fresh unpasteurised apple juice
  • Wine yeast, one sachet
  • A 5-litre fermentation vessel with airlock
  • Sterilising solution for all equipment

Method

  1. Press or source fresh juice and fill the sterilised fermenter, leaving a hand's width of headspace.
  2. Pitch the wine yeast, fit the airlock, and ferment at cool room temperature.
  3. After about two weeks the bubbling slows; rack off the sediment into a clean vessel.
  4. Let it clear for another two weeks, then bottle. Drink it young, dry and lightly chilled like the taverns do.

Editor tip. Aim for sharp, acidic apples; sweet dessert fruit makes flabby Ebbelwoi. Fully dry is the authentic Frankfurt finish.