Germany, Wines

Wine Notes: Baden’s Breisgau District

What I Learned:

The Breisgau area of the Baden Region of Germany has some unique topography, both natural and manmade. From the plain, you see ridgeline after ridgeline, each rising higher as it moves away from the Rhine, and toward the upper reaches of the Black Forest to the east.

The vine-covered hills, usually on the first or second ridgelines after the plain, tend to be small, but steep. Man has worked around this by terracing many of them over time. This terracing provides plenty of opportunity to notice the primarily loess and sandy soils that predominate in this area.

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Germany, Hiking, Nutshell

Breisgauer Weinweg: Trail in a Nutshell

Name: Breisgauer Weinweg

Trail type: Long distance, multi-day trail; mostly hard-packed gravel or paved in built up areas and some vineyards, well maintained and well-marked.

Length: 99.1 km/61.5 miles

Convenient to: Freiburg, Germany

Marking: Green grapes on red diamond on white background

Breisgauer Weinweg Trail Sign
Breisgauer Weinweg Trail Sign

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Germany, Hiking

Panoramaweg: Volkach’s Wine Trail with a View

Online research can produce some great finds, and this trail was one of them. Searching for a day hike in the Wuerzburg area: something around 15-25 kilometers, wine-themed, and through well-known, scenic territory, turned up nothing for me. A major disappointment because Wuerzburg is one of my favorite cities, with its architectural gems, unparalleled setting on the river, and a well-established wine culture, that naturally attracts good food. So I turned my queries to the other side of the Maindreieck, to the “wine island” and Volkach area.

My hits included the Panoramaweg. Not a title implying a wine-themed trail, but that was exactly what it was: a trail through several of the more famous vineyards in the Volkach area, wine-tasting opportunities, and a wine learning trail along the way. And, as advertised: this trail had magnificent panoramas throughout the trail.

Barges on the Main
Barges on the Main

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Germany, Wines

Wine Notes: Franconia’s Maindreieck

What I Learned:

Along the Main River in Franconia (Franken, in German), there are three wine districts of good repute: Maindreieck, Mainviereck, and the Steigerwald, set slightly off the river, but still enjoying a climate mild enough to grow grapes. This post focuses on the Maindreieck district only.

The Maindreieck is a triangle of land surrounded on three sides by the Main River. The Main is a tributary to the Rhine. The river makes three dramatic curves close to the heart of Franconia, forming this “triangle” (dreieck) as a paragon of viticulture in south central Germany. The most important and undoubtedly best known town for wine culture in this area is Wuerzburg.

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Germany, Hiking, Nutshell

Volkach’s Panoramaweg: Trail in a Nutshell

Trail Name: Panoramaweg

Trail Type: A mid-distance trail or circuit; some medium-difficulty ascents; almost exclusively hard-packed gravel or paved; well maintained and fairly well marked.

Length: totals:

Circuit: 15 kilometers/9.3 miles

Trail: 20 kilometers/12.5 miles

Convenient to: Wuerzburg, Franconia, Germany

Marking: Orange background with a white stylized eye

Panoramaweg Trail Sign
Panoramaweg Trail Sign

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France, Hiking

Beaujolais and the Giant Trail

Gargantua is a literary character developed by Francois Rabelais, a 16th century French writer. Gargantua is known as an epicurean giant of awesome adventures, son of a wine estate-owning nobleman. The adjectival form has become synonymous with humungous. And it was also the name of a trail I recently hiked. So, I wondered as I hiked, does the name refer to the big-name Beaujolais wines from here enjoyed by epicureans world-wide, or does it refer to epic adventures to be found along the 16-kilometer route, or the size of some of the hills the trail traverses?

It certainly did not refer to the size of Moulin a Vent, the Wind Mill, an iconic landmark, as well as a renowned wine appellation, in the Beaujolais region. It is often easier said than seen for hikers in this very hilly landscape. But that was my start point and my end point on this circuit trail to discover two great crus of Beaujolais.

Moulin a Vent - The Windmill
Moulin a Vent – The Windmill

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France, Wines

Wine Notes: Beaujolais Crus

What I Learned:

Beaujolais is a wine region just south of Burgundy. It has three different quality levels: a simple Beaujolais produced in the southern-most reaches of this region; a Beaujolais-Village appellation; and in the northern part of this wine region, ten villages have their own appellations due to their special crus. It is a singular geological area, once part of an ancient sea bed. The hills are often steep and hide valleys between them. Schist and granite soils in the Beaujolais give a distinctive minerality to the wines. The best of these wines, the ten villages/areas of appellation (Brouilly, Chenas, Cote de Brouilly, Chiroubles, Fleurie, Julienas, Morgon, Moulin a Vent, Regnie, Saint-Amour) offer good value for quality wines.

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France, Nutshell

A Gargantuan Trail in a Nutshell

Trail Name: Circuit de Gargantua, also known as Circuit 1 Gargantua

Trail Type: Medium distance circuit; trail surface partly paved, otherwise grass or earthen surface (sandy or compacted); Route mostly marked.

Length:

Total: 16 kilometers/10 miles

Shortened: 9.5 kilometers/6 miles

Convenient to: Lyon, France

Marking: Red squares with stylized grapes and leaves, and white lettering identifying the trail name: “Circuit 1 Gargantua”, the name of the location (example: “Chemin des Bois”), and with white italic lettering below identifying the next destination (example: “En Remont”). An arrow below indicates the direction to follow.

Marking for Circuit de Gargantua
Marking for Circuit de Gargantua

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