Tag Archives: hiking

Hiking, Italy

A Prosecco Circuit

 

Prosecco is a wonderful sparkling wine from northern Italy. So, when passing through Valdobbiadene, famed for its Prosecco, I decided to complete the eponymous circuit, which incidentally, touched on some of the finest vineyards known in the world of Prosecco.

I must confess though, both this circuit, the towns, and even the famous vines of the Cartizze, are a bit remote, and relatively unknown to most wine hikers. What a shame! This is primarily an agricultural area, rather rural and a bit wild, backing onto some of Italy’s most rugged mountains outside the Dolomites. This creates in part an atmosphere of isolation, but for those determined to visit, it is only about 90 minutes from Venice, in a district known as the Marca Trevigiana, today practically identical with the Province of Treviso.

Heights above Valdobbiadene

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Italy, Wines

Wine Notes: Prosecco DOCG

 

What I Learned

The region producing Prosecco DOC wines maybe be found throughout northeastern Italy in the provinces of Belluno, Pordenone, Treviso, Padua, Gorizia, Udine, Venice and Vicenza. However, two major production districts within the Veneto region, in the Province of Treviso, are particularly well-known: Conegliano and Valdobbiadene (stress on the second “A”, in case you wondered). This is the designated Prosecco DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) area, a higher quality level than the Prosecco DOC. Conegliano anchors the eastern part of the area.

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Hiking, Italy, Nutshell

Anello del Prosecco: Trail in a Nutshell

Trail Name: Anello del Prosecco (Prosecco Circuit)

Trail Type: A short to medium distance circuit; very diverse surfaces (asphalt, trackless, cart trail, dirt), somewhat maintained; the route itself is marked diversely, and sometimes not at all.

Length:

Total – 15 kilometers/9.33 miles

Segment – 8.5 kilometers/5.25 miles

Convenient to: Valdobbiadene, Italy

Marking: Varies, sometimes following different CAI numbered paths (1019, 1014), and the occasional large iron stands with yellow and white signs waxing poetic on the wines and vines of the area.

Trail 1014b Signs

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France, Hiking

A Tale of Two Pouillys II

 

One of my favorite white wines is Pouilly-Fuisse, one of France’s well-known appellations. It lies in Burgundy, not too far south from the famous Cote d’Or with its own many fine appellations. Early in my wine-drinking career, I often confused that wine name with Pouilly-Fume. Therefore, I decided to get a closer look, since visually, there would inevitably be cues to keep the two villages, and hence the two wines, apart in my mind.

The Pouilly-Fuisse hike I completed was just that – a walk between and around the tiny villages of Pouilly and Fuisse. The trail name said it all: Entre Pouilly et Fuisse (Between Pouilly and Fuisse), and it provided a great opportunity to see both villages up close.

Fuisse

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France, Hiking, Nutshell

Entre Pouilly et Fuisse: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Fuisse (FU), Subtitled: Entre Pouilly et Fuisse

Trail Type: Short distance circuit; partly paved, partly hard-packed path, some rocky sections, well maintained, but the route itself is fairly well-marked.

Length: 8 kilometers/5 miles

Convenient to: Macon or Lyon, France

Marking: Posts with yellow signs indicating location, directions and distances; yellow (usually painted bars) on trail route will indicate that you are still on a trail, and your next change of direction (left or right)

Trail Marker Indicating Location, Direction and Distances

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France, Hiking

A Tale of Two Pouillys I

 

Pouilly-Fume and Pouilly-Fuisse are two of my favorite French white wine appellations. Early in my wine-drinking career, I often confused the two. After all, the names are similar. But the wines themselves are from different regions, and quite distinctive. Therefore, I decided to hike the areas to get a closer look. I figured that visually there would inevitably be cues to keep the two villages, and hence the two wines, apart in my mind. This is the story of the first hike.

A hike through and around the village of Pouilly-sur-Loire is a hike through one of France’s best-known appellations: Pouilly-Fume. It lies in along the Upper Loire valley, practically across the river from another famous appellation: Sancerre. Unlike the other Pouilly, with its Chardonnay white wines under the Pouilly-Fuisse appellation, the Sauvignon Blanc varietal reigns supreme in the Pouilly-Fume wines of this region.

Pouilly-sur-Loire in the Rain

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France, Hiking, Nutshell

De Loire en Vignes: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: De Loire en Vignes;

Trail Type: A medium distance circuit; varied surfaces, from grassy, or rough, to asphalted road; marking is spotty on the trail.

Length: Total – 12.84 kilometers/ 8 miles

Convenient to: Nevers or Sancerre, France

Marking: A combination of trail specific (yellow grapes on a white background, yellow directional marking, and nothing.)

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Germany, Hiking

A Cure with Wine and Romance

 

Feeling low on wine and romance? Then here is the cure: head to Bad Mergentheim. This delightful little spa town set in the valley of the Tauber, has water sources with the minerals that benefit the digestive system. Much as wine, in moderation, can do.

Small, and as remote (comparatively speaking) as it may be, chances are you have heard of it, or even driven through it. It is on the very first, and now the most famous, German car touring itinerary, the Romantic Road. This 200-plus mile itinerary stretches from the beautiful city to Wuerzburg, south to the Alps, passing through or by some of Germany’s most iconic attractions, quaintest villages, and spectacular scenery. The highlight in Bad Mergentheim is the imposing complex that once served as the headquarters of the Teutonic Order. (It now houses a museum detailing the history of the order, as well as local history.) It is here that the trail begins.

Deutscheordensmuseum

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Germany, Hiking, Nutshell

Kur und Wein: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Kur und Wein (Cure and Wine) – Rundwanderweg LT 17

Trail Type: Long distance circuit trail; variety of paved or hard-packed surfaces, to include stairs; well maintained, and fairly well-marked, once beyond Bismarckstrasse in Bad Mergentheim.

Length: Total: 16.25 kilometers/ 11 miles

Convenient to: Wuerzburg, Germany

Marking: LT 17 (and Panoramaweg in Bad Mergentheim)

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Hiking, Switzerland

Alpine Rhine Vines

 

The Rhine River valley has vineyards on both sides along much of its length. In four countries, (five, if you include a mere 30 acres in the Vorarlberg region of Austria), vineyards cover select slopes of various geologies and topographies. Five sections of the Rhine have vines: The Alpine, the High, the Upper, the Middle and the Lower. The Alpine Rhine, from Reichenau to Lake Constance, mostly flows through a mostly wide valley lined by Alps on either side. The Graubunden Canton north of Chur, the tiny country of Liechtenstein, and the Sankt Gallen Canton, all have vineyards on the slopes facing onto this section of the Rhine. Since I had already visited some of those vineyards on a hike in the Graubunden Canton, (see here) I decided to visit the Sankt Gallen Canton to see some of their vineyards, and to learn about some of their wines.

The Rhine, and its Canal by Au

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