What I Learned:
Little known, as not much is exported, Luxembourg’s wines are readily available and thoroughly enjoyed by residents and visitors in the Grand Duchy. For lovers of dry, white wines, this region provides some delicious, drier alternatives to Alsatian or Rhine white wines.
Trail Name: Velo Vinum
Trail type: Short circuit biking circuit; mostly paved, well maintained, albeit not marked
Length: circa 29 km /18 miles
Convenient to: Luxembourg, Luxembourg
In Stuttgart and seeking to escape city life for a few hours? Looking for somewhere close by, convenient to reach, yet with a real feel of countryside? The Stuttgart Wine Trail (Stuttgarter Weinwanderweg, in German) provides a convenient countryside escape, with wine and food stops, along an easy trail for young and old, residents and visitors alike. Best of all, it is easily accessible via the Stuttgart metro system, being only a few stops from the city’s center!
What I Learned:
The Remstal district is in the Rems River valley, located a few kilometers northeast of Stuttgart’s city center. With slightly over 600 hectares, the grapes here grow in soil that is 90% keuper (consisting of marl and limestone). Trollinger is the predominant varietal followed by Riesling, Kerner (a Trollinger and Riesling cross), Schwarzriesling (Pinot Meunier), Lemberger, Mueller-Thurgau, Spaetburgunder (Pinot Noir), Dornfelder, Portugieser, and Silvaner, in that order. The information about this area was provided by the Remstalkellerei, a wine cooperative (and wine shop) that makes and markets wines from this district in large amounts. (This is a popular winery whose products grace the shelves of many German supermarkets, especially in the Stuttgart area.)
Continue reading Wine Notes: Wuerttemberg’s Remstal-Stuttgart
Trail Name: Stuttgarter Weinwanderweg
Trail Type: mid-distance hiking circuit, completely paved, well maintained and very well marked.
Length: total: 11.5 km/7.15 miles
Convenient to: Stuttgart, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany
Trail Name: Sentiero Valtellina
Trail Type: Long distance cycling trail; mostly hard-packed gravel or paved, well maintained and marked.
Length: Circa 94 km
Convenient to: Sondrio, Lombardy, Italy
Trail Name: Arbois Pedestre-Vignoble et Revermont
Trail Type: A mid-distance hiking circuit; grass, dirt trail, and paved in built-up areas.
Length: Total: 16.5 km
Convenient to: Besancon, Jura, France
What I Learned:
The vintners in the valley of the Adda River in the Valtellina region of Lombardy, Italy, produce well-regarded, powerfully flavorful, red wines. Not many people outside Italy are aware of these wines, but they deserve some attention for a couple of reasons. Continue reading Valtellina Wine Notes
What I Learned:
The Jura wineries are not that far from Burgundy’s wineries, but they are figuratively-speaking a world apart. Like their famous counterparts, the Jura wine-makers are just as proud of their line of products, which have centuries of tradition behind them.
Biking Through Valtellina
Italy’s Valtellina wines are amazing, but even more amazing is the Sentiero Valtellina, a mostly paved bike trail beginning near Grosotto, in the Alps, and ending on Lake Como in Colico. It is an unspoiled 95 kilometer stretch of trail born of a cooperative venture among the valley communities, well-maintained, signposted in most spots, and enjoyed by walkers, joggers, and roller-bladers, as well as bikers, young and old.
