Tag Archives: Hiking and Biking European Wine Country

Germany, Hiking

Empires Past and Present

Charlemagne brought wine to Ingelheim, and I followed a trail to Ingelheim, wine, and Charlemagne. Thus, in one fell swoop, I managed to satisfy my wine, hiking, and early medieval history passions in this small town on a partly sunny afternoon.

The Carolingian and earlier Merovingian times in Western Europe have always interested me. So when I heard about the wonderful exposition of the remains of one of Charlemagne’s favorite palaces, I had to visit. In addition to a highly focused and informative museum on the palace, the great signboards at exposed walls throughout the town, and outlines in stone of once-extant huge palace structures, help bring the old palace alive, as it was in Charlemagne’s time.

Ingelheim: Old Palace Ruins

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Germany, Wines

Wine Notes: Rheinhessen Reds

 

What I Learned:

Of all the German states, Rheinland Pfalz has the most wine regions. And of all the German wine regions, the Rheinhessen wine region is the largest. Situated on the left/west bank of the Rhine, between roughly Worms and Mainz, it extends away from the river to as far west as Alzey-Weinheim, itself about 25 kilometers from the Rhine. In total, Rheinhessen vines cover approximately 26,000 hectares/65,000 acres.

The area round Ingelheim is known for its Spaetburgunder, or Pinot Noir. Most recent figures from the German Wine Institute show that white varietals represent about 63% of all cultivated vineyards, not unsurprising in a country where Riesling is king. However, more red varietals are being planted as the years pass, and of these, Spaetburgunder, Pinot Noir, leads the way with an impressive 11.5% of all red varietals in cultivated vineyards.

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Germany, Hiking, Nutshell

Hiwweltour Bismarckturm: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Hiwweltour Bismarckturm

Trail Type: Mid-distance circuit; trail surface variable – from earthen to paved, includes stairs, well maintained overall; the route itself is fairly well-marked.

Length: 10.3 kilometers/6.4 miles

Convenient to: Mainz, Germany

Marking: A cursive lower-case “h” on a half-blue/half-green rectangular-shaped background

Hiwweltour Signage

 

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Germany, Hiking

Dettelbach’s Vines and Wines

 

The Maindreieck wine region in Franconia is an area of quiet refinement. This region offers lovingly preserved ancient towns untouched by mass tourism, and miles of fruitful vineyards producing some unique wines (and wine bottles), all nestled within the gentle curve of the Main River. Yet the sophistication of Wuerzburg, in terms of food and wine, pervades throughout.

Dettelbach, where this circuit trail begins, is a charming old town along the Main River. Behind its town walls, lies a hidden jewel, filled with carefully maintained half-timbered houses, Renaissance and Baroque era churches and chapels, and old homes with private courtyards, some now offering seating for very good restaurants.  Exploring inside the walls is fun, but making the rounds of the existing wall sections and towers is even more interesting, as the towers’ architecture suggests centuries of upkeep and renovation.

Dettelbach Walls and Towers

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Germany, Wines

Wine Notes: Maindreieck’s Dettelbach

 

Bavaria’s only wine region, Franconia, has three wine districts, the Maindreieck, the Mainviereck, and the Steigerwald.  These wine growing regions are actually closer to Frankfurt am Main, than they are to Munich, the state of Bavaria’s capital. The Maindreieck, a triangle of land formed by an almost 180 degree turn in the Main River’s course, is particularly favored by nature to produce grapes. One of the major sites in terms of size is by the small town of Dettelbach, known for its consistently good wines.

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Germany, Hiking, Nutshell

Dettelbach: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Traumrunde Dettelbach

Trail Type: Mid-distance hiking circuit; well-maintained and almost exclusively paved, good marking on the trail.

Length: 10.5 kilometers/ 6.5 miles

Convenient to: Wuerzburg, or Kitzingen, Germany

Marking: Red semi-circle on a white background

TraumRunde Dettelbach Signage

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Biking, Switzerland

The Other Rhone Vineyards

 

Rhone vineyards and their wines are famous throughout the world: Chateauneuf du Pape, Hermitage, Condrieu, Cote Rotie, etc. But the Rhone River begins in Switzerland, not France, and that was where I recently biked part of the Chemin du Vignoble, or the Trail of the Vineyards, following the Rhone River Valley vineyards in Switzerland’s French-speaking Canton of Valais.

The Rhone Valley

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Switzerland, Wines

Wine Notes: Valais

 

What I Learned

Valais means valley, in this case, the Rhone River valley in Switzerland. Here, steep mountains rise up from the narrow, valley floor. This wine region in the southwestern corner of the country has Switzerland’s driest and sunniest weather. Thus, it is a little wine-making paradise, and accordingly, the Valais arguably produces some of the best- known wines in Switzerland.

In the Valais, vineyards lie on the north side of the Rhone, facing primarily south, from the west in Martigny to the east around Leuk. Within this area are several varietals that are little known to the general wine-loving population outside Switzerland. These include the white varietals of L’Amigne, Humagne, and the Petite Arvine, and the red varietals of Cornalin, Diolinoir and Gamaret.

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Biking, Nutshell, Switzerland

Chemin du Vignoble: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Chemin du Vignoble

Trail Type: Long distance, two-stage bike trail from Martigny to Leuk (aka Loeche), in the Valais Canton in Switzerland; well-maintained and almost exclusively paved, but marking on the trail can be problematic in places.

Length:

Total – 83 kilometers/ 51.5miles

Stage One – 36 kilometers/22.4 miles

Stage Two – 47 kilometers/29 miles

Convenient to: Martigny, Montreux, or Sion, Switzerland

Marking: Red stylized grapes with 72 in white, on a blue square, on a red arrow.

Trail Signage

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France, Hiking

From the Moselle to the Mosel

 

The Moselle River is famed for its wines – German wines. But the Moselle actually begins in France, coming out of the Vosges Mountains, rolling along its way through the northeastern corner of France. Where France and Germany and Luxembourg meet, the Mosel begins, where all three countries lay claim to Moselle/Mosel wines of note. But this is not an article about German Mosel wines, nor about Luxembourg’s Moselle wines either, as they have already been done. (See here for Germany, and here for Luxembourg.) Rather, this is about the French Moselle wines and wine country, which is far less known, and quite new as an appellation.

Moselle Leaving France

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