the magazine of the german wine institute - Wines of Germany

32
GERMAN WINE GROWING REGIONS
Rhein
Vineyard area:
ca. 460 ha,
85% white wine
Most important grape varieties:
Riesling, Spätburgunder,
Müller-Thurgau
Further information:
www.mittelrhein-wein.com
Boppard Hamm:
the wine loop on the Rhine
Bacharach:
Centre of the Romantic Rhine
���������������
���������
���������
���������
�����������
�������
DID YOU KNOW?
The town of Bacharach
has several distinctive
steep slopes. According to
an old saying the best wines are grown in Bacharach, and
Pope Pius II had a barrel of Bacharach wine delivered to Rome
every year. But there is also a very flat vineyard. It is situated
on a 680 by 150 metre island in the Rhine and is called
“Heyles’en Werth” after its former owner Hans Heyles. Today
the island is cultivated by a winemaking family from
Bacharach. They do not only need strong legs like the
steep slope vintners but also muscular arms as the
island can only by reached by rowing boat.
ALL TOURISTS KNOW THE ROMANTIC RHINE. Victor
Hugo and Mark Twain already raved about the
spectacular scenery in the 19th century which
inspired many paintings by William Turner. In
contrast to most Germans, many a tourist from
Japan or Korea can sing all verses of Heinrich
Heine’s Loreley song without any mistakes: „Ich
weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten ...“ („I don’t
know what it could mean...“). For the wineconnoisseur
Mittelrhein means Riesling for a
start. The cultivated area of the Mittelrhein measures
456 hectares and extends for about 110 kilometres
along the Rhine from Bingen and the
Siebengebirge to the gates of the former Federal
capital Bonn.
Anyone who has ever travelled along this route
by train, ship or car, will have seen many medieval
castles and picturesque towns and also a lot
of vineyards.
THIS ROMANTIC ROUTE BETWEEN BINGEN AND
KOBLENZ WAS DECLARED A UNESCO WORLD HERI-
TAGE SITE IN 2002!
“Romantic wine” does not quite describe it
properly, though. Most vineyards are located on
steep slopes that demand hard work from the
wine-growers. But the wines from the Mittelrhein
region are worth the effort: the predominant
slate soils yield mineral-rich and hearty
wines with lively acidity.
page right above:
view of the Rhine and
Bacharach
page right below:
vineyards at Boppard
small photos below:
vineyards at the Mittelrhein,
St. Goarshausen
The air-stream provides a mild breeze, the
Hunsrück keeps the coldest streams away, but
south-facing slopes are still essential for the
top wines. They can be found from the bend
in the Rhine near Boppard to the Loreley primarily
on the right bank of the Rhine, north
of it to Rhens on both banks and south to
Trechtingshausen especially on the left bank
and in its side valleys. More than 300 hectares
of the total area of the region are planted
with Riesling. Pinot Noir, Müller-Thurgau,
Blauer Portugieser and Kerner from the Mittelrhein
are mostly enjoyed locally and therefore
rarely find their way onto the market.
The impressive castles were once built as defensive
structures or customs stations but lost
this significance from the 15th century when
firearms were invented. Many castles were abandoned.
The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) and
the War of the Palatinate Succession (1688-
1692) caused a lot of destruction – the glory
of the magnificent fortresses of the Mittelrhein
seemed to be over. But many of the thick walls
survived the centuries, were restored from public
and/or private funds and are today a symbol of
the Romantic Rhine – together with the vineyards,
of course!