Germany, Nutshell

German Wine Route Hiking Trail – Mittelhaardt District: Trail in a Nutshell

Trail Name: German Wine Route Hiking Trail/Wanderweg Deutsche Weinstrasse

Trail Type: Long distance hiking trail; pavement or hard-packed trail surface throughout, well maintained, and fairly well-marked.

Length:

Total: 96 km/60 miles of the complete trail

First segment of the Mittelhaardt district: 18.5 km/11.5 miles

Second segment of the Mittelhaardt district: 24 km/15 miles

Convenient to: Ludwigshafen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Continue reading German Wine Route Hiking Trail – Mittelhaardt District: Trail in a Nutshell →

Europe, Germany, Hiking

Hiking the German Wine Route: an Oenophile’s Paradise

One of the loveliest hikes in Germany is a 60 mile-long,  mostly a gentle walk through vineyards and villages, at the edge of the Haardt Mountains on the west side of the Rhine River Valley. The entire area in this southwest corner of Germany is known as the Pfalz, in German, and the Palatinate in English. As the name implies, the area is filled with castles. Castles and wine: I love this region! The pristine villages, back-dropped against evergreen, red sandstone mountains capped by castle ruins, with their wonderful wines and wineries keep calling me back for more visits.

Continue reading Hiking the German Wine Route: an Oenophile’s Paradise →

Germany, Hiking

The Classic Deutsche Weinstrasse: Hiking the Suedliche Weinstrasse

The Weintor, a towering gate marking the beginning of the German Wine Route (Deutsche Weinstrasse), will forever mark in my mind the first step of a fantastic journey: A wonderful hike through the glorious and relatively unknown German wine districts of Suedliche Weinstrasse and Mittelhaardt in the fabulous region of the Pfalz in southwest Germany.

Continue reading The Classic Deutsche Weinstrasse: Hiking the Suedliche Weinstrasse →

Germany, Wines

Wine Notes: Pfalz Suedliche Weinstrasse

What I Learned:

The Pfalz has a long history of wine making. Grapes were cultivated and processed into wine even in the early days of Roman settlement along the Rhine. The implements found throughout various sites in this part of the Pfalz, some of which are in the museum in Edenkoben, bear witness to this long history. The tradition continued with the establishment of regional monasteries, such as the one in Wissembourg, France, just south of today’s Weintor in neighboring Germany, dating to the 600s; and important dioceses’ centers in old Roman districts, such as Worms and Speyer. (Church services required wine, hence vineyards for the raw material.)

Continue reading Wine Notes: Pfalz Suedliche Weinstrasse →

Germany, Nutshell

Deutsche Weinstrasse/Suedliche Weinstrasse: Trail in a Nutshell

Trail Name: Deutsche Weinstrasse Wanderweg (Schweigen – Leinsweiler-Edenkoben-Neustadt/Weinstrasse segments)

Trail type: Long distance hiking trail; mostly hard-packed gravel or paved, well maintained and fairly well marked.

Length: total (of the Suedlich Weinstrasse half): circa 54 km/33 miles

Schweigen – Leinsweiler segment: circa 25 km/15 miles

Leinsweiler – Edenkoben segment: circa 18 km/11 miles

Edenkoben – Neustadt segment: 11 km/7 miles

Convenient to: Karlsruhe, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany

Continue reading Deutsche Weinstrasse/Suedliche Weinstrasse: Trail in a Nutshell →

Gallery

Gallery August 2014

Gallery
Middle Etsch Valley Vines
Middle Etsch Valley Vines
Streams along the Trail
Streams along the Trail
Sunlit field in the Dolomites
Sunlit field in the Dolomites
Castle above Terlan
Castle above Terlan
In the Etsch Valley
In the Etsch Valley
Nals under Snow-topped Alps
Nals under Snow-topped Alps
Wine Estate outside Bozen
Wine Estate outside Bozen
Castle near Terlan
Castle near Terlan
Window Grill
Window Grill
Above Riex
Above Riex
Terraces, Alps and Lake Geneva
Terraces, Alps and Lake Geneva
Alleyway in Saint Saphorin
Alleyway in Saint Saphorin
Vines and Alps on Lake Geneva
Vines and Alps on Lake Geneva
Corner in Riex
Corner in Riex
Terraces and Lake Geneva
Terraces and Lake Geneva
Passageway in Saint Saphorin
Passageway in Saint Saphorin
Hiking, Switzerland

Switzerland’s Terrasses de Lavaux

While the wines might not be well-known, as they are not much exported, the wine growing area on the hillsides fronting Lake Geneva between Lausanne, Switzerland, to north of Montreux, is famous for a continuous history of wine culture which had its start during the Roman era, but has continued non-stop since about the year 1000 A.D.

Continue reading Switzerland’s Terrasses de Lavaux →

Biking, Italy

Alto Adige: A Trail of Lagrein and Sauvignon

The Alto Adige is Italy’s name for the province beginning north of Trento, and continuing north to the Austrian border. Formerly a part of Austria, this bilingual region has another name for itself: the Suedtirol (South Tirol). In this area, grapes grow on the sunny side of the Dolomites mountains. To highlight its wine-making culture, landscape and traditions, the region has developed three biking circuits that allow wine-enthusiast bicyclists to explore this beautiful area.

Continue reading Alto Adige: A Trail of Lagrein and Sauvignon →

Hiking and Biking European Wine Country