Trail Name: Entre Vignes et Cadoles (au Depart des Riceys)
Trail Type:
A short-distance circuit; mostly well-maintained and with mostly hard surfaces (hard packed or paved), marking on the trail only occasional.
Length:
Total – 6.6 kilometers/4 miles
Convenient to: Troyes, France
Marking:
Yellow horizontal bars, or blue horizontal bars, sometimes together. (See the sign above.)
Continue reading Entre Vignes et Cadoles: Trail in a Nutshell
At my trailhead in a grass-covered valley, I bemoaned the fact that right at the start, I faced a somewhat steep incline. A toddler liberated from his stroller didn’t mind though, and seemed inclined to head into the woods and toddle up the trail behind me. Passing through deeply forested hillside, a couple of churches, then vineyards, I came to a narrow country road at the top of the hill. Up from an even steeper slope, came a man on a bicycle. He stopped at the top of the hill, as did I, to check the map. We got to chatting. He was a native of Bergamo, which I could see in the distance. He was an avid cyclist. He was 78. I was deeply impressed, and slightly shamed by my earlier whining about steep inclines. His hill was long and steep, coming up from the valley. I decided his great stamina must be due to a life-long exposure to the wines of Valcalepio.
Trail Name: Strade del Vino; Full name: Escursione Lungo le Strade del Vino (Excursions along the Wine Routes)
Trail Type: mid-distance; maintained in most places, variable paved and unimproved surfaces, marking on the trail only occasional
Length:
Total – 11 kilometers/6.8 miles
Convenient to: Bergamo, Italy
Marking:
A red horizontal bar superimposed over a white one. See Comment below!!!
If your vineyard hike is not chosen with care, you could end up on a trail that is just that: nothing but vines. While it is good for wine education trails (which are legion, but rather short), it can be less than enthralling for hikers. I am pleased to report that this month’s trail was full of bio-diverse flora, landscapes, views, and even had two very different settlements, a village and a hamlet, to enjoy.
I began in Moleto, a hamlet devoted to art, whose Italian and foreign artists live in residence. The hamlet bills itself as a sort of open-air museum. The wall of art is the first thing to notice. This hamlet had an annual arts festival, ArtMoleto, (before the pandemic), and its artists attracted some attention region-wide. There is a local bar, with a gorgeous location overlooking the valley, and a lovely restaurant in the local cantina. Unfortunately, both attractions were closed that day. Forewarned is forearmed – this hamlet can be deserted at times.
Trail Name: Valle dei Frati; AKA: CAI 746
Trail Type: A short distance circuit trail; well-maintained and almost exclusively hard-packed surfaces, from tarmac to grassland, although there were a couple of small muddy grassland spots; the trail is fairly well marked.
Length:
Total – 8 kilometers/4.97 miles
Convenient to: Casale Monferrato, or Asti, Piedmont, Italy
Marking:
Red and white horizontal (or vertical) bars, and/or words “CAI 746” (Also see featured photo above.)
Sometimes pilgrimages bring the pilgrims making the journey closer to heaven. Me, I just felt closer to heaven merely viewing the wide vistas from one of the Markgraeflerland district’s venerated vineyards, passing through old forests, eerily quiet in the face of an impending storm, and confronting the vestiges of pilgrimages past and present. This hike truly was more than just a hiking experience. It synthesized much of what I look for in the vineyard or wine trails I select.
In the first place, the hike proceeded through a few different vineyard areas. The first was the Batzenberg, rising uniquely outside the village, supporting almost nothing but vines on its slope. It is a good, reliable area for vines. Along with the Oberduerrenberg vineyard, that the trail subsequently traversed, these two vineyards represented some of the best parcels in the area. I liked them both for two very different reasons. From the top of the Batzenberg, one could almost feel on top of the world. With nothing but vines, the far-reaching vistas were impressive.
Trail Name: Batzenbergrunde
Trail Type: A mid-distance circuit; well-maintained and almost exclusively hard-packed (or paved) surfaces, marking on the trail is not trail-specific
Length: 13.75 kilometers/8.5 miles
Convenient to: Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, or Basel, Switzerland
Marking:
None specific to the trail, (although I did see wooden one sign); but there were plenty of directional signs (see above).
The vines were still bare, but spring was on the way. Those famous April showers were watering the early spring flowers, the only splashes of color on that wet spring day. Nevertheless, rain or shine, the word “Vougeot” conjures up so much of the magic of Burgundy and its wines, that I had to complete the eponymous hike: Autour du Clos de Vougeot.
Trail Name: Autour du Clos Vougeot
Trail Type: An easy, short circuit trail, mostly hard packed or tarmac surfaces, fairly well maintained, with some signage along the route.
Length:
Total – 8.5 kilometers/ 5.25 miles
Convenient to: Dijon or Beaune, France
Marking: Yellow rectangles/bars, and the occasional named trail sign. See also the featured photo of trail signage above.
Continue reading Autour du Clos de Vougeot: Trail in a Nutshell
Be prepared is the scout’s motto. And when winter hikers (like me that day) do not heed that advice, there can be unanticipated results, but fortunately friendly help can save the day. It was in the thirties and overcast when I began my drive to this hiking trail. Two hours later, it was below freezing and snowing, definitely not the spring weather I optimistically decided would certainly prevail in March. I decided to start the hike anyway, and arranged to meet a friend for lunch in Handthal, about midway to Breitbach from Gerolzhofen.
To be clear, the Weinsteiger trail itself-its condition, its signage, even its itinerary-was quite good. I intend to return someday to complete the itinerary, and enjoy the sights and adventures on offer along the trail. The issue was my lack of preparation for the weather, which can be colder, due to the elevation and exposure, than other parts of Franconia.
