Completing the first three stages of the Fraenkischer Rotwein Wanderweg (Franconian Red Wine Trail), and breaking off at the train station in Erlenbach am Main, I intended to return to finish the trail. However, life intervened, and it took me a lot longer to return than anticipated. But the delay only heightened my desire to hike the rest of this itinerary, to see what lay hidden around the next curve.
What I Learned
Lying about 100 miles south of the geographic center of Germany, Churfranken vines grow in red sandstone and loess soils and subsoils. This small area of Franconia’s wine region is in the Mainviereck wine district. The Main River flows through the Churfranken, which generally enjoys a mild enough climate with sufficient sun exposure for ripening grapes.
This area is especially known for its red wines. In fact, the Churfranken Pinot Noirs are consistently judged the best red wines of the entire Franconian region. So, while local vintners grow the ubiquitous Franconian white grape varietals of Silvaner and Bacchus, as well as Riesling, the reds carry the day here. Blauer Spaetburgunder (Pinot Noir), and Blauer Portugieser are two well-known red varietals locally. Another red varietal is the Schwarzriesling. Also known as the Muellerrebe, it is not completely uncommon in this part of Germany, although you will be hard pressed to find it outside the Franken and Wuerttemberg wine regions.
Trail Name: Fraenkischer Rotwein Wanderweg (Franconian Red Wine Hiking Trail) (FRW)
Trail Type: Long-distance trail; well-maintained with a wide variety of surfaces, as well as stairs; marking on the trail rather good throughout.
Length:
Total – 79 kilometers (km)/49 miles
This segment (Last three stages): 29.5 kilometers/18.3 miles
Convenient to:
Aschaffenburg, Germany
Marking:
A Franconian wine glass (fat-stemmed), mostly red in color, often with the words Fraenkischer Rotwein Wanderweg, set on a green and white background on a square.
Continue reading Fraenkischer Rotwein Wanderweg II: Nutshell
From water’s edge to wine-hills, (literally, Weinberge in German); From an easy start to a more challenging effort; From one side of the Main River, to the other, then back and forth again. This trail provided variety and a sense of anticipation with each kilometer through this little-known corner of Franconia.
Churfranken is in the northwest corner of the Mainviereck wine district of Franconia, and the long-distance Fraenkischer Rotwein Wanderweg (Franconian Red Wine Trail) is designed to showcase as much of this corner as possible. As it meanders along, wine loving hikers will discover the towns and landscape of the red wine for which the trail is named and the area is famed.
What I Learned
Germany’s Franconian vineyards are found in three wine districts: the Steigerwald, the Maindreieck, and the Mainviereck. The western-most sub-district of the Mainviereck is the Churfranken. This is where the Main River makes a sharp curve north, shortly before it leaves Franconia and enters the lands of Hesse.
Trail Name: Fraenkischer Rotwein Wanderweg I (Franconian Red Wine Hiking Trail) (FRW)
Trail Type: Long-distance trail; well-maintained, with mixed surfaces and stairs, good marking on most of the trail, although missing in a few places.
Length:
Total – 79 kilometers/49 miles
Segment (first three stages): 48.3 kilometers/30 miles
Convenient to:
Aschaffenburg, Germany
Marking:
A Franconian wine glass (fat-stemmed), mostly red in color, often with the words Fraenkischer Rotwein Wanderweg, set on a green and white background on a square.
This is a post about a long-distance cycling itinerary. But I was not cycling it. The most famous cycle route in France, the Tour de France, has an itinerary that changes every year. Fortuitously, in a perfect storm of time and place, I was able to watch it as it passed.
Fortunately too, there was a short vineyard hike I could do in the area that day. It began in the center of Rosheim, an Alsatian town in the department of Bas Rhin, and a town where the Tour was scheduled to pass through in July 2019. Rosheim is a delightful small town, with a lot of town spirit as I would find out. The trail leading out of town passed several well-maintained buildings of great historic value. In fact, the trail through town followed along the car route Route Romane d’Alsace, or Romanesque Alsace Route, demonstrating that this town has had a long and illustrious past, worth a detour in any visit to lower Alsace.
What I Learned
Northern Alsace has a great viticultural and vinicultural tradition. Six main white varietals grow throughout Alsace: Riesling, Silvaner, Gewuerztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and the only red varietal: Pinot Noir.
While the reds might be less common, and lighter-bodied than Pinot Noir wines from other French appellations, the whites are often full-bodied expressions of the grape and terroir. Alsatian wine is quite good, and demand for it is rising.
