Trail Name: Wein & Wald Runde (Wine and Woods Circuit) (AKA: SB3)
Trail Type: Mid-distance cycling itinerary circuit; well-maintained, with much of it paved, and well-marked, along most of the itinerary route
Length:
Total – 28 kilometers/17.4 miles
Convenient to: Heilbronn, Germany
Marking: SB3 and trail name letters in white on a colorful square metal sign
Trail Name: Bodensee Radweg (Lake Constance Bike Trail) – Untersee segment
Trail Type: long-distance, multinational cycling circuit; very well-maintained and almost exclusively paved, with excellent marking along the trail
Length:
Total – Full Bodensee Radweg is 270 kilometers/167.75 miles
Segment: Untersee circuit only is 72 kilometers/44.75 miles
Convenient to: Konstanz, Germany/Kreuzlingen, Switzerland
Marking: Stylized black stick figure on bike with blue rear wheel, on a white background Trail Description:
Wuerttemberg’s Weinradweg (Wine Cycle Route) complements this German state’s long-distance, wine-themed hiking trail, and extends a bit further south as well. When it comes to wine trails, both the hiking trail and this biking trail fall in the category of extensive. I had already hiked, and really enjoyed, parts of the 470 kilometers/292 miles-long hiking trail. I wanted to explore the bike trail as well.
Since I knew I would never complete the whole route, I decided to cover new ground, the area south of Stuttgart, along the Neckar River, one section of Wuerttemberg’s wine country that the complementary hiking route does not reach. Looking at the trail map, it is easy to see that the very first segment lends itself nicely to a circuit route: starting from Rottenburg am Neckar, and going to Tubingen, via the Ammerbuch valley, and returning to Rottenburg along the easy, popular and well-marked Neckar Valley bike trail.
What I Learned
The Oberer Neckar, Upper Neckar, in English, is the smallest wine district in the Wuerttemberg Wine Region, with only about 30 hectares (acres) to its credit. The district’s name is due to its position in the upper third of the valley defined by the Neckar River. Its closest viticultural neighbors, Metzingen and Neuffen, as well as the Stuttgart Weinsteige, lie to the north (downriver) within the Remstal-Stuttgart wine district of the Wuerttemberg wine region.
Historically, the region’s vintners were challenged to get a crop undamaged to harvest. Tradition says that their wines were sour, and hence having a poor reputation for quality. Since 1990, that is changing. Helped by climate change (meaning better ripening for the grapes), and education, the wines are much improved.
Trail Name: Wuerttemberger Weinradweg
Trail Type: Long distance; well-maintained and almost exclusively paved, marking on the trail very good
Length:
Total – 354 kilometers/219 miles
My segment – 32 kilometers/ 20 miles
Convenient to: Stuttgart, Tuebingen, Rottenburg am Neckar, Germany
Marking: Square metal shield with a white-outlined stylized rider on a bicycle superimposed on a burgundy background
Continue reading Wuerttemberger Weinradweg: Trail in a Nutshell
What I Learned
Baden and Wuerttemberg were two different principalities, at one point in history. But in 1952, they joined to become one state in the Federal Republic of Germany. However, the wine regions of Baden and Wuerttemberg remain distinct. (There is no such thing as a Baden-Wuerttemberg wine region.) But in the northwest corner of the state, east of Karlsruhe, in a precinct named the Kraichgau, these two wine regions meet to form a complex mosaic of wine districts and noted growths.
Trail Name: Besen Tour
Trail Type: Medium distance cycling circuit; well-maintained and much of it paved surface, fairly good marking along the trail.
Length: 36.5 kilometers/ 22.5 miles
Convenient to: Karlsruhe, Pforzheim, or Heilbronn, Germany
Marking: A white square metal plaque with a broom and the words “Besen Tour”
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.
