Tag Archives: Sachsen

Wine in Saxony

 

Germany’s eastern-most wine producing region is in the region of Saxony, starting not far from the eastern borders Germany shares with Poland and the Czech Republic. Culturally, Saxony has a lot on offer for any culture maven; Historically, from the Carolingian era forward, Saxony played a tremendous role in the political vicissitudes of the German speakers in this region of central Europe, with monuments of all sorts to prove it; Additionally, the Saechsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland) region, with its famous rock formations like the Bastei and Lilienstein, provides magnificent hiking trails for visitors to enjoy!

Naturally, the hiking trail I chose was a wine-themed trail. This far east and north, vines usually require a body of water to help moderate the temperatures. In this case, the vineyards primarily flank the right bank of the Elbe River.  The trail itself followed through these vineyards, and through several villages, towns and cities associated with wine-making. This trail, almost 90 kilometers long, covers much of the vineyard area for which this part of Saxony is famous, interrupted, if you will, by the huge city of Dresden. Not having time to complete the whole trail, I had to choose one segment. I had previously visited Dresden, itself an important city culturally and historically, but never got to Meissen, home to the famous porcelain factory. Thus, I decided to start in vineyards on the southern edge of Meissen, and hike to the end of the trail.

Meissen: Castle and Cathedral

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Wine Notes: Saxony

 

What I Learned

Winemaking came comparatively late to the German wine region of Saxony. According to legend, the noble Bishop of Meissen, Benno, was the first to introduce vines to this area around the year 1100. These first vines were supposedly planted near the mount of Meissen, where the castle and cathedral now stand. About 60 years later, wine-making in Meissen was historically documented.  While not the northern-most wine region in Germany, it is the eastern-most wine region, being rather close to both the Polish and Czech borders. Here, the wine region’s vineyards follow the course of the Elbe River, as it enters German from the Czech Republic. The majority of the vineyards are on the right bank (eastern side) of the river, on the south and west facing slopes. With only about 500 hectares (about 1250 acres) ranging along about 50 kilometers of the Elbe, it is one of Germany’s smallest designated wine regions.

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