The “Sommer” in Sommerhausen means summer in German, but there were no signs of it the day I was there. Dark, windy and spitting rain, as is normal in the winter here, it was a good day to follow the Weinsbergweg, the town’s trail devoted to its wines, along the slopes lining the Main River, about 8 miles south of Wuerzburg.
What I Learned
Franconia (Franken, in German) is one of Germany’s 13 wine regions. Within this region there are three districts. Two of the three follow along the Main, a peaceful, beautifully winding river that ultimately flows into the Rhine by Frankfurt. Three consecutive bends form a huge triangle of land, and the wine district along the river in this area is known as the Maindreieck (Main Triangle).
Trail Name: Weinsbergweg (incorporating the shorter educational Wein-Kulturweg) Sommerhausen
Trail Type: Short distance circuit; well-maintained and almost exclusively paved, (or with very hard-packed earthen surfaces), and with excellent marking throughout the trail.
Length: Total – 6 kilometers/ 3.75 miles
Convenient to: Wuerzburg
Marking: Snail, and White grapes on a green background, or on tarmac (see trail photo below)
“Der alde Gott lebt noch” (The old God still lives), at least in the area of Sasbachwalden. A sea of vines, set in as bucolic a landscape as one could wish for, hold the secret to a long and happy life here, centered around wine and hiking.
As the story goes, a young man, on meeting the beautiful young woman who would become his wife, cried out: The old god still lives! They married, settled in the area, and enjoyed a happy life together. On seeing this wonderful trail, in such an idyllic setting, one could cry out the same.
What I Learned
Sasbachwalden is a small town in the Ortenau wine district of the Baden wine region of southwest Germany. It is bounded by the Black Forest heights to its east, and the river plain of the Rhine to the west. The town has approximately 266 hectares of vineyard, and along with active tourism, is a mainstay of the local economy.
Alde Gott is the name of a specific vineyard area in and around the towns of Sasbachwalden, Sasbach, Lauf and Achern. The soils are of granite and gneiss. The terrain itself is quite hilly, with several natural bowl-like formations. The steep-sided slopes ensure good drainage in this otherwise wet area. They can get up to 1500 millimeters of rain a year. To ensure maximum sun exposure, the vine-bearing slopes face primarily south and west.
Trail Name: Alde Gott Panoramaweg
Trail Type: Mid-distance circuit on tarmac, grass or hardpacked surfaces; well maintained, and very well marked.
Length: 9.8 kilometers/ 6 miles
Convenient to: Karlsruhe or Baden-Baden, Germany
Marking: Red background, white lettering of the trail name, often on a white metal arrow.
A castle stands atop an unusually steep, vine-covered hill, just east of the German city of Heilbronn in wine region of Wuerttemberg. Famous for having defied the Emperor, the little town of Weinsberg has a unique story. Was it the wine that inspired them?
What I Learned
The Wuerttemberg wine region, while not perhaps the best-known German wine region, has made significant contributions to wine culture throughout Germany and the world. Wuerttemberg’s Unterland district is one of six that makes up this region. The small town of Weinsberg, near the city of Heilbronn, are in this district (and on the trail), and have oenological claims to fame.
Trail Name: Wiesen, Wein und Treue Weiber (Fields, Wine and True Women)
Trail Type: Mid-distance circuit; varied surfaces (grass, dirt, paved); mostly well-maintained, but the route itself is not specifically marked.
Length: 13.5 kilometers/8.5 miles
Convenient to: Heilbronn, Germany
Marking: None uniquely specific to the trail’s itinerary. The photo below merely indicates first marking. (See the itinerary below.)
Attention wine drinkers: This trail is for you.
Most of the wine- or vineyard-themed trails I have followed focus on seeing particular terroir or grape varieties, or learning about the vinicultural processes involved in making a regional wine. But one trail along the foothills of the Hessische Bergstrasse wine region though, seems to focus on enjoyment of the final product, that is to say, drinking the wines themselves. And given the name of the trail, the Winzer und Weinstuben Tour, (the Vintner and Wine Bar Tour), that is not surprising.
