While not one of the more famous wine regions in Germany, the Hessische Bergstrasse region has a charm all its own. Only about 20 minutes from Heidelberg, a major tourist destination in its own right, with nearby vineyards falling within the Baden wine region, the Hessische Bergstrasse wine region is little known to visitors.
The wine town of Bensheim is but one of several small towns in this wine region, lined up like pearls in a necklace along the tourist road Bergstrasse. (So-called because it runs north to south along the western edge of the hills of the Odenwald forest.) Bensheim is also approximately the center of the Starkenburg wine district of this wine region. My trailhead for this hike was in the charming historic center of town. Filled with colorful half-timbered houses, and lots of architectural detail, it was a delightfully different way to begin hiking.
On reaching the outskirts of town, a church with a large cemetery appeared. A quick perusal of the area disclosed tidy, well-kept grave sites, each with distinctive stones. German cemeteries are interesting places to see at least once. Like Roman towns, gravesites were often found on the edge of town. (In fact, many German towns have a Waldfriedhof (a forest cemetery) in the town woods that form part of the township lands.) Now though, there are a couple of residential developments beyond it, but fortunately, the trail avoided those as led up the Hemsberg hill. Thus, the flat terrain of the town abruptly ends.
On the Hemsberg, the first of many vineyards began. While upon first entering the vineyard, the views over the Rhine Valley were impressive, once around the Hemsberg hill, the other hills stood out in dramatic relief. Looking east from the Rhine Valley, the hills often seem to be ridgelines. In reality, at least from the trail here, discrete peaks appear, giving the whole area a “hills and dales” character: Like a crumpled piece of tin foil upon which time and nature had intensified the effects.
Upon leaving the vineyards, much of the rest of the hike passed through rural scenes: Fallow fields of undulating green, small copses scattered about, strips of brown furrows where the first plowing of the season had begun. Molehills rose before mountains which were tree-covered. Rivulets appeared, and disappeared into streams, the noisy music of water tinkling everywhere. Old trees, some sporting crowns of mistletoe stood as solitary sentries in backwater meadows.
Rounding the trail through Gronau, the trail headed back toward Bensheim. I entered a large woodland, filled with setting sunlight casting long shadows. It was another quiet interlude through nature that ended on a path following the Lauter stream. As trees lined both sides of the stream, it wasn’t until almost back into the heart of Bensheim, that I realized the nature-filled idyll had ended, and the charming town-scape had reappeared. Quiet and lively, idyllic and charming, up and down, the trail itinerary offered a lot to experience, to see, and to taste in this tiny section of the Hessische Bergstrasse.
What I Learned
The Hessische Bergstrasse wine region is not very well known outside of Germany, in spite of the fact that it begins only about 25 kilometers/16 miles north of the well-visited city of Heidelberg. It is the smallest German wine region, and has only two tiny districts. The Starkenburg district falls between the towns of Zwingenberg, to the north, and Heppenheim on the southern end. The town of Bensheim lies about midway between the two. Bensheim itself is home to a well-known Grosslage, the Wolfsmagen. The Streichling, Hemsberg, Stemmler, and Paulus vineyard areas cover the hills south and east of the old town. Much of the Hemsberg and Paulus have nice exposure to the sun as it sinks behind the Haardt mountains in the Pfalz, on the western side of the Rhine River valley. The Kirchberg and Kalkgasse lie separately, on the northern side of the old town center. Thus, the Wolfsmagen Grosslage can claim almost as much as acreage as the total acreage in the Umstadt district, the other, northern, district within the Hessische Bergstrasse wine region.
The principal grape varietals grown here are Riesling, Grauburgunder, Weissburgunder, and Silvaner. Spaetburgunder is the only red varietal grown here in significant quantities, although, some Dornfelder may be found and used in wine blends.
What I Tasted
2015 Riesling, Bensheimer Wolfsmagen, Hessische Bergstrasse, Trocken, Qualitaetswein, Weingut Goetzinger: A dry white wine with light plus gold color, green apple and fresh cut grass nose, with green apple and fresh cut grass flavors, with a hint of smoke, tart finish with medium plus acidity.
2014 Riesling, Bensheimer Hemsberg, Trocken, Qualitaetswein, Bergstraesser Winzer: A dry white wine with medium-light gold color; talc and slightly floral nose; citrus flavors, some hints of vanilla, mild acidity.
Rotsekt, Cuvee, Halbtrocken, Weinkellerei Josef Mohr (Bensheim): A semi-dry sparkling red wine (mostly Dornfelder) with dark cranberry red color and fine bubbles; nose of spices, predominantly cloves, and red berry and spice flavors.
