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Deutsche Weinstrasse Scenery |
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Another personal impression of famous Wine Regions of the World
The Rhineland
region is one of Germany’s most romantic and scenic areas,
attracting visitors with its vineyards, gentle hills, and fairy-tale
castles along the valleys of the River Rhine and Mosel. Travelling
along the Deutsche Weinstrasse, Germany’s oldest
tourist wine route, visitors will not only taste some excellent
Riesling and Rhinegau white wines, but will also be exposed to
spectacular scenery where river and sloping vineyards meet. The
wide, peaceful curves of the River Mosel flow between the two
massifs of Rhineland, the Eifel to the west and the Hünsruck to the
east.
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We visited
this region end of March, although still chilly-cold, with the
first signs of spring in the air. After leaving Frankfurt, we
travelled through the scenic Naturpark Hochtaunus,
visiting the small towns of Königstein, Schmitten, and
Grosser Feldberg. Numerous smaller feeder rivulets like
Gelbach, Muhlbach, and Lahn flow into the mighty Rhine. The
Mosel and Rhine rivers meet at Koblenz. Dating back to the Roman
Times of 9 BC as a military camp, Koblenz is today a modern
metropolis and main centre of the region’s cultural life.
The Mosel valley
runs southwest of Koblenz, down past the city of Trier, and stops
short at the intersection where Germany borders Luxembourg and
France. As the road meanders along the curving valley of the Mosel
River, one is continuously reminded of the clear skies and crisp and
brilliant new leaves of the vine. Around each bend, a very new scene
unfolds: picturesque wine villages tell a story of tradition and
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We decided to
choose the town of
Cochem
to
overnight.
Every year, during
the first weekend in November, the popular Weinfest is
held in Cochem, celebrating the removal of the bung from the first
barrel of young Mosel wine. The Erbach Gasthaus sits
on the riverbank, facing a tiny tree lined, cobblestone town square.
From our bedroom balcony, we had the most wonderful sunset and break
of dawn the next morning: in an almost eerie scene, mist clouds
partly covered the river stream, with the famous castle guarding the
town in the first rays of daylight.
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We were lucky
that it was still quiet and out of the forthcoming tourist
season. After sunset, we wandered through the endless cobbled
pedestrian streets, sipping some local Riesling and Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder)
at Weinstubes. When we visit these old, historical
towns of Europe, the age-old town scenes always astounds us,
where past and present meets one another in good fashion:
Ultra-modern glass shop fronts in ageless stone facades, showing
the wear and tear of time. When looking down, you can sense the
vastness of tradition and the depth of history, being written on
the weathered and smooth cobblestones under your feet.
However, back
to the story of this region: WINE. |
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Some of the
most historically celebrating vineyards in German wine history,
are located in the central region of the valley, the Bernkastel
district. Bernkastel is home to the legendary
Doctor, whose wine could treat a patient; as well as the
wonderful Alte Badstube am Doctorberg next door.
Names to look out for include: Graacher and
Zeltinger Himmelreich (owning a piece of heaven),
Wehlener Sonnenuhr (one of the valley’s famous sundial
vineyards, catching the most heat), and Urziger Würzgarten
(the spice garden which produces wines with a taste of
cinnamon).
Our wine experience of the Mosel valley ended in
Trier,
popular wine town with one of Germany’s finest old squares,
Hauptmarkt. In the middle is the market cross (Marktkreuz), erected
in the year 958 when the town was granted the right to hold a
market. Standing at the fountain, with its painted figures, one
see’s 15 centuries of history, encapsulated in the architectural
monuments and milestones around the famous square. Interesting is
also the fact that the socialist theoretician, Karl Marx, was born
in Trier. |
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On our return
to Frankfurt, we passed the famous Loreley
opposite St Goar. However, yet again, we were also not fortunate
to see the mermaid combing her hair! Last to visit, was the
small wine region of Rheingau, a strip of only 32
kilometres alongside the River Rhein. Stretching from Rüdesheim
to Wiesbaden, it faces due south across one of the widest
sectors of the river. The combination of mostly slate soils and
intense sunlight, reflected off the waters of the river, combine
well to ripen the Riesling grapes to perfection.
At
Johannisberg, the first nobly rotten Spätlese was produced back
in 1775.
Although very different from our local South African
Riesling, (like the Theuniskraal), we still prefer our Sauvignon
Blanc and Chenin Blanc varieties!
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Nevertheless, it remains interesting to note the role
of soil and slope and sunshine in the cultivation of true German
Riesling varieties.
- Johann Beukes
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