Rheingau Wineries & Vineyards, Reviews, Grapes, Tasting Notes, Rhine Tours

If your idea of Rhine wine is the exported version of Liebfraumilch, be prepared to discover new tastes and aromas as you explore the range of dry to sweet white wines that the Rheingau is famous for.

It was here that the idea of harvesting grapes at different stages of ripeness was first introduced. The longer the grapes hang on the wines, the sweeter they become. The earlier harvests yield dryer, less sweet wines while the grapes picked last, the Spätlese, are sweeter. The Rheingau first made delicious sweet wines from grapes with Botrytis Cinerea (noble rot).

The Rheingau, little more than 20 miles long, is the smallest German wine growing area. Yet this area of winding rivers, fairy tale castles and picture post card villages framed by hillsides draped with grape vines may be the most renowned of them all.

These are the Hock wines, wines from the Hochheim area, that were a favorite of Queen Victoria. The Dom zu Köln, the awe inspiring Gothic cathedral of Cologne, marks the beginning of this wine route. The main grape varieties here are the Riesling and the Spätburgunder. There are also a small number of Müller-Thurgau, Ehrenfelser, Kerner and Weissburgunder vines. The grapes grow along the Rhine River between the villages of Wiesbaden and Rudesheim. While there are some reds produced here, the whites in the brown bottles are the prize...

By the Rhine! By the Rhine!
'Tis here we grow our finest wine.
- Matthäus Claudius

Rheingau - The Deutsches Weininstitut site is a wonderful place to explore German wines. The section on this region gives information on the soil, the grapes, the types of wine and hiking, cycling and walking trails.

Virtual Farm - Rheingau Wineries - This site lists many of the more than 100 wineries in the Rhinegau region with links to the sites. Quite a few offer English versions and the pictures plus wine information make the weingut's sites fun to explore. Many of them have online shopping or agents that can obtain the wines for you.

Riesling Estates in the Rheingau - A report on the state of Riesling wine making in the Rhinegau goes into detail on several of the new winemaker's estates that are reaping rewards for their wine making techniques and the delicious whites that result...

Wine Review Archive - Germany Rheingau - Getting straight to business this article is a collection of reviews of wines from the Rheingau region from the past few years dating back to 2000.

Germany's Rheingau Region - This article from WineX Magazine leads you into the world of wine waiting to be rediscovered with winery contacts, places to stay, restaurants and reviews of some very fine wines.

also see -> Germany Tourist Attractions