Tag Archives: Hiking and Biking European Wine Country

Celebrating the Bubbles

 

As wine tourism in Italy expands to include active options, there are more trails to hike or bike than ever before. I recently had another chance to visit Franciacorta. East of Milan, and just south of the sparkling clear waters of Lake Iseo, Franciacorta is an ideal location for a wine-themed biking vacation. The lake, in addition to being a beautiful, scenic backdrop, helps to moderate temperature; the hills shelter you and the vines from excessive wind; the wine villages are small, and charming. Best of all, it is quiet and laid-back: I encountered more people cycling than driving on some of the back roads.

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Franciacorta Pas Dose: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name(s): Franciacorta Pas Dose/Itinerario 2/Percorso Blu (Blue)

Trail Type: Mid-distance circuit; surfaces mostly hard-packed gravel, or paved in built up areas; well maintained and fairly well-marked.

Length: Total – 30 kilometers/18.6 miles

Marking: Brown rectangular signage with white and blue writing (“Itinerario 2 Percorso Blu”)

Itinerario 2 Percorso Blu Pas Dose
Itinerario 2 Percorso Blu Pas Dose

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Luxembourg’s Moselle Vineyards

 

Luxembourg is a small country. But good things often come in small packages, as the expression goes. This is true not only of the Duchy, but also of the wines, and of the wine trail I completed.

Luxembourg’s wines, especially its sparkling wines, are appreciating in quality year over year. One of the oldest caves for the Domaines Vinsmoselle, is in Wellenstein in the Canton of Remich. In this southern-most section of Luxembourg’s appellation, wine is big business. Accordingly, three small communities closest to this cave have collaborated to create an educational wine trail. While not in the largest appellation along the Moselle, nor perhaps the most celebrated, this trail deserves pride of place among many of the hiking trails, large or small, found up and down the Moselle for a number of reasons.

Looking Downriver
Looking Downriver

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Circuit Viticulturel: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Circuit Viticulturel or Wain a Kulturpad

Trail Type: A short distance; almost exclusively paved, (except about a kilometer, if using a grassy shoulder along a road), well maintained, but not a lot of trail signage.

Length: Total: 10 kilometers/ 6 miles

Convenient to: Remich or Schengen, Luxembourg

Trail Marking: See photo below

Circuit Viticulturel Signage
Circuit Viticulturel Signage

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Near and Far Along the Nahe

 

Nearby were the vineyards, while far off in the distance lay the Rhine and its famous vineyards. In between were peaceful, expansive sections of woods. These were my first impressions. What these all had in common was the Wald, Wein und Horizonte (Woods, Wine and Horizons) hiking trail, a 17.5 kilometer-long trail circling some of the well-known vineyard areas of the Nahe River Valley.

Wald, Wein & Horizonte Start
Wald, Wein & Horizonte Start

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Wine Notes: Nahe

 

What I Learned

The area around the Nahe River, a tributary to the Rhine, is one of Germany’s 13 wine regions. It roughly begins at Bad Sobernheim, and ends at Bingen on the Rhine, just where the Mittel Rhein starts to narrow dramatically. Along the relatively short length of the Nahe River, there is a great deal of variety in the soil composition. In addition to the slate and red sandstone, not uncommon in this western part of Germany, there is porphyry, quartz and melaphyr (a type of basalt).

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Wald, Wein und Horizonte: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Vital Tour – Wald, Wein und Horizonte (Woods, Wine and Horizons)

Trail Type: Mid-distance circuit; almost exclusively paved or hard-packed surfaces (only a couple of grassy slopes otherwise), well maintained, and extremely well-marked!

Length: Total: 17.5 kilometers/ 10.9 miles

Convenient to: Bingen or Bad Kreuzmnach

Marking: A pair of rectangles in red, with black and red lettering for the trail name, on a white background.

Wald, Wein & Horizonte Sign
Wald, Wein & Horizonte Sign

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No Corkscrew, No Wine!

 

The Traisental is the newest and smallest Austrian DAC region, and one I had never heard of. I decided therefore to visit the region’s trails and wineries. I quickly identified a great trail, the Korkenzieher. Korkenzieher is “corkscrew” in German, and the name of this trail derives from a monumental corkscrew rising above the vineyards, with a viewing platform overlooking much of the Traisental vineyard area. Perfect for a wine-themed hiking trail through this region!

Glimpse of the Hilltop Corkscrew
Glimpse of the Hilltop Corkscrew

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