Recently, I visited a quiet corner of Italy. That is almost a contradiction of terms nowadays, and often difficult to find in the summer. Seeking a refuge in the great outdoors, free from crowds, I came across a bike ride through vineyards in Aosta Valley. Since I had never been there, I decided to make the trip. What a trove of new discoveries of all sorts!
What I Learned:
Valle d’Aosta (Aosta Valley) is in the northwest corner of Italy, where Italy, France and Franco-phone Switzerland meet. It is an autonomous region with a heavy French influence. This influence, and of course earlier Roman settlement in the region, means that wine and wine production figure heavily in local culture. Being not only in the north, but also at a rather high elevation, wine-making is a challenge. But it is one that local winemakers have accepted, especially those vintners close to the French border, whose vineyards lie at altitudes greater than 1000 meters above sea level. (In fact, these vineyards lying below the highest mountain in the Alps, Mount Blanc (itself over 4800 meters above sea level), include some of the highest vineyards in Europe.) While there are other contenders for the highest vineyard elsewhere in Europe, there can be no doubt that Aosta Valley winemakers work in seriously mountainous terroir.
Trail Name: Tour dei Vigneti
Trail Type: Short to medium distance bicycling trail; almost exclusively paved, well maintained, but the route itself is infrequently marked.
Length:
Segments – 1.5, 3.5, 5, 5.5, 8 and 10 kilometers
Total – 10 kilometers/ 6 miles
Convenient to: Aosta, Italy
Marking: Green rectangular Sign with white lettering “Tour dei Vigneti” and a number
Durbach is the name of a quiet village set among the hills of the Ortenau wine district in Germany.
This village, on the edge of the famous Black Forest, attracts active vacationers who enjoy being outdoors. Dark green woods, bright green vineyards, and tufts of wildflowers set against contrasting shades of green, or bright blue sky, form a large part of this summertime color palette. Snaking through it, in shades of red or white, are thin paths leading upward. They combine, in a variety of ways, to form sections of the numerous hiking trails crisscrossing this hilly landscape. Hikers wishing to take advantage of them will need to stay for several days to explore them all!
What I Learned
The Ortenau is a district in Germany’s Baden wine region. This district lies on an undulating landscape, in bucolic countryside, punctuated by picturesque wine villages. Durbach is one of these villages, renowned for its excellent vineyards, and justly famed for the quality of its wines. Ridgelines here are less lines, than semi-circles, creating several small natural bowls with steep sides. Most of the growths have ideal exposure to the sun. Additionally, these bowls protect the grape-bearing slopes from too much wind. The climate here is exceptionally mild and sunny in summer. In short, this is one of the best areas for growing grapes in Baden.
Trail Name: Durbacher Weinpanorama Weg
Trail Type: Medium distance circuit; tarmac or hard-packed (albeit some loose gravel here and there), well maintained, fairly well-marked, albeit not always easy to see. (Also see comments below.)
Length: total: 16 kilometers / 10 miles
Convenient to: Offenburg, Germany; Strasbourg, France
Marking: Signs with white letters spelling “Durbacher Weinpanorama”
Some places seem designed for vineyards, and this was one of them. Outside Guebwiller, the slopes of the foothills of the Vosges run into a small mount. Like its opposing counterpart, the Bollenberg mount itself is cloaked in vines. While the Bollenberg vineyards are well-known, more importantly, the Bollenberg itself functions as a shield for the vines on the opposite slope. Protected from eastern winds, and fully exposed to the sun, this long, albeit non-contiguous stretch of slope, has on it not one, not two, but three Grands Crus.
What I Learned
Alsace’s wine producing region identifies certain vineyard areas as Grand Cru. The Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine department) area is particularly favored with some great terroirs. Spread roughly north to south, many of the most well-known crus are in the northern and central parts of this department. However, around the area of Guebwiller, there are several, and this post focuses on three.
Trail Name: Vignoble de Bergholtz
Trail Type: Medium distance circuit; trail surface mostly paved, with some hard-packed earthen sections, sometimes covered by loose gravel; well maintained, but the trail itself has no designated marking.
Length: 10 kilometers/ 6 miles (2.5 hours)
Convenient to: Colmar, or Guebwiller, France
Marking: None specific to the trail
