If you are looking for fine German wine and food, consider the Mosel region of central western Germany on the border of Luxembourg. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local white Riesling tasted with several meals and paired with imported cheeses.
The Mosel Valley has long been considered one of the most beautiful river valleys in the world. This region, previously known as Mosel-Saar-Ruwer for its three rivers, is proud of its Riesling wine. Some of the greatest Rieslings in Germany and in fact in the entire world come from the Mosel Valley. Experts can often identify Mosel Rieslings because of the slate in the local soil, which may impart a taste of flint. Mosel vineyard slopes are among the steepest in the wine-producing world, sometimes attaining 70 degrees. The soil is so precious that every spring local workers lug pails of soil up these slopes, reversing temporarily the effect of the rains that wash the soil down every winter.
Mosel is fifth among the thirteen German wine regions with respect to both vineyard acreage and total wine production. Slightly more than three quarters of the wine produced here is QbA and somewhat less than one quarter is higher quality QmP wine. Only one percent is table wine. Over half of of all Mosel wine is Riesling. The German hybrid Müller-Thurgau represents about 20% of the wine production. In third place is the historic variety Elbing that dates back to Roman times and is the major grape variety in the neighboring country of Luxembourg. Only about 2% of Mosel wine is red.
Basically the Mosel Valley runs from Koblenz not far from Germany’s former capital Bonn to the city of Trier that sits very close to the border. These two cities are linked by the Mosel Weinstrasse (Mosel Wine Road) which is about 140 miles (224 kilometers) long on the eastern side of the river and somewhat less on the western side. Of course, you could take the autobahn to get between Koblenz and Trier at breakneck speed. If you do, you’ll miss the interesting little towns and vineyards along the way.