The Hofkellerei, tasting the Prince's wine beside his vineyard

Of everything you pay for in Vaduz, this tasting is the one I’d recommend most readily. It’s cheap for a country where everything is priced in francs, small groups don’t need to book, and you sit down to try the Prince’s wine next to the vineyard it comes from. Few capitals let you do something like that on an ordinary afternoon.

What the Hofkellerei is, and why it’s worth an afternoon

The Hofkellerei des Fürsten von Liechtenstein is the princely family’s winery. In Vaduz it’s at Feldstrasse 4, in the Herawingert vineyard north of the centre. The vineyard has been the Liechtensteins’ since 1712, when they bought the county of Vaduz, and it covers 4 hectares facing south-west. The tourist board counts it among the best sites in the Rhine valley for that aspect and for the mild climate the föhn wind brings, and it’s planted with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

The lord of Vaduz’s link with wine is much older than the winery. The Historical Lexicon records that until 1848 people from Vaduz and Schaan had to work unpaid in the lordly vineyards, hauling manure and vine stakes, digging two days a year and carrying the must up to the castle. In 1808 forty day labourers also worked the lord’s largest vineyard. Thinking about that while you sip the Pinot Noir gives the glass a different flavour.

The winery says the family has been tied to wine since 1436, and today it also has vineyards in Austria, in the Weinviertel and on the Leithaberg, plus a wine shop in Vienna. Since 2024 it has belonged to the Österreichische Traditionsweingüter association. How that fits with the family’s wider estate is in my guide to the princely house of Liechtenstein.

The public tasting, no booking needed

The one I’d do is the public tasting with a tour. It runs Monday to Friday at 15:00 and Saturday at 14:00, lasts about 90 minutes and costs CHF 19 a head. You meet at the winery entrance, and groups of up to six can come along without notice. It includes a tour, so it isn’t just a matter of sitting down to drink; they walk you through the vineyard’s history and how it’s worked.

Two warnings. The winery lists the odd day with no tasting, and in 2026 those were 21 August and 19 September. I’d check its website the day before. And if you’ve got the ALL INCLUSIVE Adventure Pass, CHF 25 a day, it covers a tasting of two wines, so the stop costs you nothing; everything it includes is in my guide to the Liechtenstein Adventure Pass.

Group tastings, from 19 to 42 francs

If you’re travelling as a group, the winery arranges four booked experiences. The Cellar Door Tasting, from six people, is four wines in about 45 minutes for CHF 19. The Hofkellerei Classic, from eight, adds a welcome sparkling wine and the vineyard and cellar walk for CHF 26. The two dearer options need ten people. «Wein Momente», at CHF 32, is led by Princess Marie, a qualified sommelier, and «Das fürstliche Weinerlebnis», at CHF 42, pours five wines including the premium lines, finishing with ice wine or marc. If there are ten of you, I’d go for the princess without a second thought.

The Torkel, lunch in the Prince’s press house

In the same vineyard is the Restaurant Torkel, in the medieval building where the Prince’s grapes were once pressed. It became a restaurant in the 1960s, and inside, according to the winery, stands one of the largest wine-press beams in Europe. Other places to eat in the capital are in my guide to restaurants in Vaduz.

Fitting it into your day

The winery lies north of the centre, near the vineyards of the Mitteldorf in Vaduz and the Red House, so it makes sense to combine all three in one afternoon. Stage 3 of the Liechtenstein Trail passes by, and the municipality keeps a wine teaching trail in the Herawingert. For the bigger picture of wine across the country, there’s my guide to Liechtenstein wine. And one obvious tip that bears repeating, don’t get behind the wheel after the tasting. The bus is a far better idea, and the winery is within walking distance of the Städtle anyway.