The German state of Hesse is home to one of the most famous wine regions in the world for Riesling wine: the Rheingau. Here, hectares of terraced vineyards looming above the middle Rhine River arguably form the world’s most iconic riverine vineyard site.
Two trails named in honor of the Rheingau’s most famous product, Riesling wine, pass through these vineyards. One is a hiking trail, and the other is a cycling route. Both start together in Kaub, and follow the Rhine upriver. Both are over 60 kilometers long, the hiking trail actually being 91 kilometers in length. Not having enough time to hike the whole trail, and not knowing when I would get back to the area, I decided to cover half of the Rheingau trails’ area by hiking the northern half of the hiking trail, and then by cycling the southern half of the bicycle route.
Trail Name: Rheingauer Riesling Pfad
Trail Type: A long-distance hiking trail; well-maintained and with a variety of trail surfaces; marking on the trail very good.
Length:
Total – 91 kilometers/55.5 miles
Segment: about 30 kilometers/about 19 miles
Convenient to: Mainz, Wiesbaden, Germany
Marking: Yellow (or white) wine glass with a crown, on a (usually) green background
Continue reading Rheingauer Riesling Pfad: Trail in a Nutshell
Winding down the side of the mountain, from a basilica through the vines to the wines of Schioppettino di Prepotto, is what this hike was all about in a nutshell.
But the sum of a hike is more than its trailheads. In this case, the trailheads themselves were impressive. The first, (or possibly the second if following the trail uphill) is the Sanctuary of Castelmonte. Visible for miles from below, with views for miles from up top, the site has deep layers of history and archeology as far back as the Iron Age. But today’s sanctuary has served as a prominent pilgrimage church for this corner of the Province of Udine in northeastern Italy since about the sixth century. However, what is visible now dates to even later than that. Architectural magnificence aside, the site itself is dramatically sited and gorgeous.
Trail Name: CAI 748 (AKA: Vigneti dei Colli Orientali)
Trail Type:
Mid-distance trail; surfaces from asphalt to rock to dirt, well-maintained in places, but not throughout; the route is fairly well marked.
Length: Total: 11 kilometers/ 6.8 miles
Convenient to: Cividale del Friuli, Italy
Marking: Red and white rectangles, with 748 in black superimposed
See featured photo above, and…
Completing the first three stages of the Fraenkischer Rotwein Wanderweg (Franconian Red Wine Trail), and breaking off at the train station in Erlenbach am Main, I intended to return to finish the trail. However, life intervened, and it took me a lot longer to return than anticipated. But the delay only heightened my desire to hike the rest of this itinerary, to see what lay hidden around the next curve.
Trail Name: Fraenkischer Rotwein Wanderweg (Franconian Red Wine Hiking Trail) (FRW)
Trail Type: Long-distance trail; well-maintained with a wide variety of surfaces, as well as stairs; marking on the trail rather good throughout.
Length:
Total – 79 kilometers (km)/49 miles
This segment (Last three stages): 29.5 kilometers/18.3 miles
Convenient to:
Aschaffenburg, Germany
Marking:
A Franconian wine glass (fat-stemmed), mostly red in color, often with the words Fraenkischer Rotwein Wanderweg, set on a green and white background on a square.
Continue reading Fraenkischer Rotwein Wanderweg II: Nutshell
Trail Name: Fraenkischer Rotwein Wanderweg I (Franconian Red Wine Hiking Trail) (FRW)
Trail Type: Long-distance trail; well-maintained, with mixed surfaces and stairs, good marking on most of the trail, although missing in a few places.
Length:
Total – 79 kilometers/49 miles
Segment (first three stages): 48.3 kilometers/30 miles
Convenient to:
Aschaffenburg, Germany
Marking:
A Franconian wine glass (fat-stemmed), mostly red in color, often with the words Fraenkischer Rotwein Wanderweg, set on a green and white background on a square.
What I Learned
Northern Alsace has a great viticultural and vinicultural tradition. Six main white varietals grow throughout Alsace: Riesling, Silvaner, Gewuerztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and the only red varietal: Pinot Noir.
While the reds might be less common, and lighter-bodied than Pinot Noir wines from other French appellations, the whites are often full-bodied expressions of the grape and terroir. Alsatian wine is quite good, and demand for it is rising.
