What I Learned:
In Germany, the Moselle River valley vintners vie with the Rhine River valley vintners for producing great quality Rieslings. It is certainly Germany’s second-most well-known river, running as it does some 250 kilometers/155 miles from the French-Luxembourg border to the Rhine. Although less well-known and shorter than the Rhine, the Moselle can claim to be Germany’s oldest wine-producing region. Continue reading Wine Notes: The Moselle’s Bernkastel District
Trail Name: Mosel Radweg
Trail Type: Long distance bike trail; almost exclusively paved, exceptionally well maintained, and very well-marked.
Length:
Total: (Thionville – Koblenz) approximately 277 kilometers/172 miles
My Segment: (Bernkastel – Cochem) approximately 80 kilometers/49.75 miles
Convenient to: Trier or Koblenz, Germany
Marking: White M and white bicycle icon on a square green placard
I had to laugh at the dog. Just yards from the start of this 99.1 kilometer wine trail (my longest yet), the trail inclined dizzyingly, twisting up and away from Freiburg’s historic old center. Yet a little dog, not much bigger than a cat really, trotted past me, his tiny jacket proclaiming “Yes I can.”
A bit further along this trail, I came across a group of preschoolers on an outing: each one bearing a backpack no less than a third his size. Thus inspired, I thought: I can do this entire trail, in spite of the several challenges it presented.
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.
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
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.
Continue reading Panoramaweg: Volkach’s Wine Trail with a View
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
After completing the Felsengartenkellerei (FGK) Riesling Wanderweg, I felt compelled to even out the experience by completing an FGK red wine-themed trail, and a red wine tasting. Because the red routes are shorter than the Riesling trail, I decided to combine the Burgunder and the Trollinger trails, two of several red wine-themed trails that the FGK offers. (The others include the delectably-named Ruhlaenderweg, the Lembergerweg, the Samtrotweg, and the Dornfelderweg.)
What I Learned:
About 20 miles north of Stuttgart, Germany, there is a distinctive grape growing area, lining the Neckar River as it flows north past the towns of Mundelsheim, Hessigheim and Besigheim. An unusual geological feature here is a fractured, limestone cliff with rock outcroppings that tower above the Neckar. Known as the Felsengarten, this site is favored by local rock climbers, as well as wine lovers who delight in visiting the vineyards surrounding the cliff, and the local wine cooperative, the Felsengartenkellerei, at the base of the cliff.
Continue reading Wine Notes: Germany’s Wuerttembergisch Unterland – Part II
