Category Archives: Hiking

Dettelbach’s Vines and Wines

 

The Maindreieck wine region in Franconia is an area of quiet refinement. This region offers lovingly preserved ancient towns untouched by mass tourism, and miles of fruitful vineyards producing some unique wines (and wine bottles), all nestled within the gentle curve of the Main River. Yet the sophistication of Wuerzburg, in terms of food and wine, pervades throughout.

Dettelbach, where this circuit trail begins, is a charming old town along the Main River. Behind its town walls, lies a hidden jewel, filled with carefully maintained half-timbered houses, Renaissance and Baroque era churches and chapels, and old homes with private courtyards, some now offering seating for very good restaurants.  Exploring inside the walls is fun, but making the rounds of the existing wall sections and towers is even more interesting, as the towers’ architecture suggests centuries of upkeep and renovation.

Dettelbach Walls and Towers

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Dettelbach: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Traumrunde Dettelbach

Trail Type: Mid-distance hiking circuit; well-maintained and almost exclusively paved, good marking on the trail.

Length: 10.5 kilometers/ 6.5 miles

Convenient to: Wuerzburg, or Kitzingen, Germany

Marking: Red semi-circle on a white background

TraumRunde Dettelbach Signage

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From the Moselle to the Mosel

 

The Moselle River is famed for its wines – German wines. But the Moselle actually begins in France, coming out of the Vosges Mountains, rolling along its way through the northeastern corner of France. Where France and Germany and Luxembourg meet, the Mosel begins, where all three countries lay claim to Moselle/Mosel wines of note. But this is not an article about German Mosel wines, nor about Luxembourg’s Moselle wines either, as they have already been done. (See here for Germany, and here for Luxembourg.) Rather, this is about the French Moselle wines and wine country, which is far less known, and quite new as an appellation.

Moselle Leaving France

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Circuit de Stromberg: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name : Circuit de Stromberg (AKA: Boucle de Stromberg)

Trail Type: Short distance circuit; mostly hard surfaces, to include about 100 steps, somewhat maintained, but the route itself is only intermittently marked.

Length: 7.7 kilometers/4.75 miles

Convenient to: Thionville, France; Remich or Schengen, Luxembourg; Perl, Germany

Marking: Yellow rectangle/Red and white rectangles thru town/Red dot; as well as location and directional signposts

Directional and Locational Signpost

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A Prosecco Circuit

 

Prosecco is a wonderful sparkling wine from northern Italy. So, when passing through Valdobbiadene, famed for its Prosecco, I decided to complete the eponymous circuit, which incidentally, touched on some of the finest vineyards known in the world of Prosecco.

I must confess though, both this circuit, the towns, and even the famous vines of the Cartizze, are a bit remote, and relatively unknown to most wine hikers. What a shame! This is primarily an agricultural area, rather rural and a bit wild, backing onto some of Italy’s most rugged mountains outside the Dolomites. This creates in part an atmosphere of isolation, but for those determined to visit, it is only about 90 minutes from Venice, in a district known as the Marca Trevigiana, today practically identical with the Province of Treviso.

Heights above Valdobbiadene

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Anello del Prosecco: Trail in a Nutshell

Trail Name: Anello del Prosecco (Prosecco Circuit)

Trail Type: A short to medium distance circuit; very diverse surfaces (asphalt, trackless, cart trail, dirt), somewhat maintained; the route itself is marked diversely, and sometimes not at all.

Length:

Total – 15 kilometers/9.33 miles

Segment – 8.5 kilometers/5.25 miles

Convenient to: Valdobbiadene, Italy

Marking: Varies, sometimes following different CAI numbered paths (1019, 1014), and the occasional large iron stands with yellow and white signs waxing poetic on the wines and vines of the area.

Trail 1014b Signs

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A Tale of Two Pouillys II

 

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.

Fuisse

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Entre Pouilly et Fuisse: Trail in a Nutshell

 

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)

Trail Marker Indicating Location, Direction and Distances

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A Tale of Two Pouillys I

 

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.

Pouilly-sur-Loire in the Rain

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De Loire en Vignes: Trail in a Nutshell

 

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.)

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