What the bocksbeutel is to the Franconians, the club-shaped bottle is to the Saxons. This peculiar bottle which resembles a bowling pin was inven- ted in 1931 in the former Weinbau-Versuchs- und
Lehranstalt HofloÌ?ßnitz (viticulture research and teaching institute) near Dresden. With its
museum, wine bar and vineyard HofloÌ?ßnitz is still a centre of Saxon wine culture
worth visiting.
More information about the German wine region of Sachsen at:
www.weinbauverband-sachsen.de
The –Romantic Roadâ? and the –Skywalkâ? run along the Saale-Unstrut Wine Route. Castles and palaces such as the Neuenburg and the Rudelsburg, important
buildings like Naumburg Cathedral and mystical sites such as the place where the Sky Disk of Nebra was found tell of the cultural history of the country. Freyburg on the Unstrut is con- sidered the secret wine capital of the area. Every year on the second weekend in September, the largest wine festival of the
region is held here. Exploring this wine-growing region and its wines, vineyards, wine taverns and seasonal vintners wine bars is a lot of fun as there is a well-developed network of cycle paths, walking tracks and waterways. The
largest part of the region is located in the Saale-Unstrut-Triasland conservation
area.
More information about the German wine region of Saale-Unstrut at:
www.natuerlich-saale-unstrut.de
Mainz, the state capital of Rheinland- Pfalz, is also the capital of Rheinhes- sen. Since 2008, it has
been a proud member of an illustrious circle – the Great Wine Capitals Global Network. It is composed of nine towns from the major wine regions of the world.
Besides Mainz these are Bordeaux, Florence, San Francisco, Christchurch, Bilbao, Mendoza, Porto and
Cape Town. The organisation–s aim is to promote tourism and wine culture. The earth is a wine planet – and Germany and Rheinhessen are part of it.
More information about the German wine region of Rheinhessen at:
www.rheinhessenwein.de
The town of Hoch- heim am Main is also
located in the Rheingau region. This wine town with its famous wines is the origin
of the term –Hockâ? for Rhine wine which is still used in Eng- land today. The term probably became popular after Queen Victoria visited Hochheim in 1845. Due to the good taste of the Hochheim wines and the benefits to health attributed to them the phrase –a good Hock keeps off the doc!â? had
established itself rather quickly. Even a century ago wines from the Rheingau were among the most ex-
pensive on wine lists throughout the world, and especially in England.
More information about the German wine region of Rheingau at:
www.rheingauer-wbv.de
The Deutsche Weinstraße goes through many typical wine villages with timber-
framed houses where vines are growing across the road. Once a year, on the last Sunday in August, on an event-filled day the entire German Wine Road is re- served for pedestrians and cyclists: an 80 kilometre long wine festival with more than 300,000 cyclists,
walkers and skaters!
More information about the German wine region of Pfalz at:
www.pfalzwein.de
The Nahe also has a
wine route – like almost every region. But the Nahe vintners are working to-
gether with the German Gemstone Route, after all, the German gemstone stronghold Idar-Oberstein is not far away. Every year a special wine edition in a special
decorative bottle is put on the market. It is called –Edelschliffâ? (noble cut). Every bottle is furnished
with a precious stone – in 2010, it was an epi- dote, and inside the bottle is a liquid gem:
a selected wine from the Nahe!
More information about the German wine region of Nahe at:
www.weinland-nahe.de
The most ex- pensive sale of a vineyard to date took place in 1900 when the mayor of Bernkastel sold
4,300 square metres of the vineyard named –Doc- torâ? to a certain Carl Wegeler – for 100 gold marks per vine. In today–s money that would be about 600 to 700 Euro per vine. The investment was worthwhile, however,
as the vineyard is now one of the most famous in the world and best in the region. Its peculiar name derives
from the fact that in 1630 the Archbishop Bohe- mund of Trier was ill but surprisingly recovered
after a few sips of wine and thus awarded the title of Doctor to the vineyard.
More information about the German wine region of Mosel at:
www.msr-wein.de
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 situa- ted on a 680 by 150 metre island in the Rhine and is called
–Heyles–en Werthâ? 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.
More information about the German wine region of Mittelrhein at:
www.mittelrhein-wein.de
The Oden- wald forest has an –islandâ?, namely the Odenwald wine island. This is of course not a real island,
but a small wine-growing region slightly separated from the rest of the Hessische Bergstraße around the
town of Groß-Umstadt to the west of Darmstadt. Wine is cultivated here on a mere 62 hectares not far from the Hessian metropolis Frankfurt am Main which also has a vineyard, the Lohberg. However, this is firstly part of the Rheingau region, and secondly the Frank-
furt people explicitly prefer a different kind of wine – that made from apples – called
–Ebbelwoiâ?.
More information about the German wine region of Hessische Bergstrasse at:
www.bergstraesser-wein.de
One of the most famous Franken vineyards and the oldest documented vineyard site by name in
Germany is the –WuÌ?rzburg Steinâ?. Steinwein has long been a synonym for Franken wine. A 1540s Steinwein is today still stored in the cellar of the BuÌ?rgerspital winery in WuÌ?rzburg. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the German
national poet, was a pronounced connoisseur of Steinwein. On 17 June 1806 he wrote to his wife
Christiane: –Please send me some WuÌ?rzburg wine, no other wine tastes as nice, and I
am in a surly mood if I lack my usual favourite drink.â?
More information about the German wine region of Franken at:
www.haus-des-frankenweins.de