MAIN Wine Europe Germany Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

The Mosel is one of the most romantic and tourist friendly wine regions in Germany.

The regions wine and local cuisine can be sampled at one of the many Besenwirtschaften found along the Mosel. You can recognize them by the broom hanging in front of the shop. Many think that wines from the Reisling grape reach perfection in the soft bends of the Mosel from the ancient Roman city of Trier with it's Porta Nigra to Koblenz where the Mosel meets the Rhine.

The steep, slaty hills nestle wine growing villages, home to some of Germany's most famous vineyards. The wines of the Mosel and the smaller rivers that join it, the Saar and the Ruwer, are pale and light bodied. The fruity fragrance as the green bottles are opened and the wine poured into your glass, advertises the lively, fruity acidity of these wines. The minerals, slate composition and the rivers add their personalities to the grapes as they grow.

Mosel wines have been described as ranging from fine-fruity to earthy, or "flinty". The villages of Wiltingen and Scharzhofberg in the Saar-Ruwer district and Bernkastel, Piesport, Wehlen, Brauneberg, Graach, Zeltingen and Erden in the Middle Mosel district are recognized as the best areas for Mosel wines. Watch the reviews and the shelves of your wine shop for the names Graacher, Wehlener, Piesporter, Bernkasteler, Zeltinger...

More information about Mosel wineries around the Web:

Mosel-Saar-Ruwer - The official German Wines site offers an overview of the region with a map of the villages and information on the grapes, the soil and the tastes you can expect to find in the wines of the region.

The Mosel - This UK wine seller, Nick Dobson Wines, has a very nice overview of the area and some excellent pictures of the Mosel and the folks tending the vineyards on the steep hills rising from the river. They also offer several top wines for sale.

J J Prum - Profile & Wine Tasting Notes - The tasting notes here wax poetic over a Graacher Himmelreich and two Wehlener Sonnenuhr wines - an Auslese and a Spätlese. There are other Mosel wines and vineyards reviewed on the Wine Doctor site, on the site map look for Mosel.

Behold the Meandering Mosel: Combining a Love of Wine With Travel - This travel and wine guide covers the area with hints for where to eat and what to visit, including suggestions for top quality designations, tasting notes and related tips.

The "Happy Mosel" Wine Festival - "On one Sunday in June, from mid-morning until early evening, a one hundred mile stretch of road from Cochem to Trier is closed to vehicle traffic, and restricted to cyclists and pedestrians. This is known as the "Happy Mosel", and is a wonderful way to enjoy the Mosel Valley."

Germany's Mosel Valley - World-famous wines and idyllic landscapes - What started out as a cycling tour along the Mosel from Trier to Koblenz wound up being a wine discovery trek that you get to share as you read - the pictures are lovely.

Europe Wine Diary 1998 - Germany - The Saar and the Mosel - A bit out of date and a bit disjointed, but the litany of fine wines this group drank their way through on their visit to the area has to inspire you... and the wine's names and tasting notes will certainly inform you.

also see -> Ahr Wineries | Baden Wineries | Franken Wineries

Middle Rhine Wineries | Nahe | Pfalz | Rhine Wines

Rhinehessen | Saale-Unstrut | Sachsen | Württemberg

also see -> Germany Travel Guides