What I Learned
The Kraichgau district of the Baden wine region is a relatively small pocket of hill territory located east of the Rhine and south of Heidelberg. This district is less well-known than many other Baden districts, and is characterized by small farming communities. The better-known Ortenau district of Baden begins south of the Kraichgau.
Trail Name: Weisses Gold und Traubensaft
Trail Type: A medium-distance, themed bicycle circuit; almost exclusively paved, well maintained, but the route itself is not marked.
Length: Total: 49 kilometers/ 31 miles
Convenient to: Heidelberg, or Karlsruhe, Germany
Marking: None
Continue reading Weisses Gold und Traubensaft: Trail in a Nutshell
One of my favorite white wines is Pouilly-Fuisse, one of France’s well-known appellations. It lies in Burgundy, not too far south from the famous Cote d’Or with its own many fine appellations. Early in my wine-drinking career, I often confused that wine name with Pouilly-Fume. Therefore, I decided to get a closer look, since visually, there would inevitably be cues to keep the two villages, and hence the two wines, apart in my mind.
The Pouilly-Fuisse hike I completed was just that – a walk between and around the tiny villages of Pouilly and Fuisse. The trail name said it all: Entre Pouilly et Fuisse (Between Pouilly and Fuisse), and it provided a great opportunity to see both villages up close.
What I Learned:
The Appellation Pouilly-Fuisse lies in the southern part of Burgundy’s Maconnais district, not too far from Lyon. It covers a small area: only Chaintre, Vergisson, Fuisse, Pouilly and Solutre, (known collectively as Solutre-Pouilly), totaling about 755 hectares (less than 1900 acres). This area was once under a vast sea, as is witnessed by the high concentration of limestone, made of trillions of trillions of tiny shells from ancient mollusks. Dropping down to the bottom of the sea, once the sea retreated, the shell mass solidified into calcareous limestone. This type of limestone can impart a fair degree of minerality to the wine.
Trail Name: Fuisse (FU), Subtitled: Entre Pouilly et Fuisse
Trail Type: Short distance circuit; partly paved, partly hard-packed path, some rocky sections, well maintained, but the route itself is fairly well-marked.
Length: 8 kilometers/5 miles
Convenient to: Macon or Lyon, France
Marking: Posts with yellow signs indicating location, directions and distances; yellow (usually painted bars) on trail route will indicate that you are still on a trail, and your next change of direction (left or right)
Continue reading Entre Pouilly et Fuisse: Trail in a Nutshell
Pouilly-Fume and Pouilly-Fuisse are two of my favorite French white wine appellations. Early in my wine-drinking career, I often confused the two. After all, the names are similar. But the wines themselves are from different regions, and quite distinctive. Therefore, I decided to hike the areas to get a closer look. I figured that visually there would inevitably be cues to keep the two villages, and hence the two wines, apart in my mind. This is the story of the first hike.
A hike through and around the village of Pouilly-sur-Loire is a hike through one of France’s best-known appellations: Pouilly-Fume. It lies in along the Upper Loire valley, practically across the river from another famous appellation: Sancerre. Unlike the other Pouilly, with its Chardonnay white wines under the Pouilly-Fuisse appellation, the Sauvignon Blanc varietal reigns supreme in the Pouilly-Fume wines of this region.
What I Learned:
The Pouilly-Fume appellation is located along the central section of the Loire river on the right bank. Seven communes, to include the main town in the area, Pouilly-sur-Loire, lie within the appellation. It is not a large appellation, as there are slightly less than 1400 hectares (about 3500 acres) planted within the appellation limits.
It is a very well-known white wine appellation. For centuries, the area has produced wines. Its tradition of wine-making dates to late Gallo-Roman times, and the wines been esteemed since the medieval era, although it wasn’t until 1937 that it obtained appellation status.
Trail Name: De Loire en Vignes;
Trail Type: A medium distance circuit; varied surfaces, from grassy, or rough, to asphalted road; marking is spotty on the trail.
Length: Total – 12.84 kilometers/ 8 miles
Convenient to: Nevers or Sancerre, France
Marking: A combination of trail specific (yellow grapes on a white background, yellow directional marking, and nothing.)
