RHEINGAU & FRANKFURT RHINE-MAIN • ITE EXQ IS U U IS Q I X T E E • • E E X T I Q S I U U I S Q I T X E E • DISCOVER TASTE ENJOY Villages & Winegrowers & Celebrating & towns Riesling I hiking CONTENTS EXQUISITE INDULGENCE RHEINGAU & FRANKFURT RHINE-MAIN DISCOVER INVITING – Two impressions 2 HISTORIC – The history of winegrowing 4 FLUENT – Winegrowing towns & villages 6 »The Rheingau trilogy of »The Rheingau and Frankfurt are winegrowing, landscape and unique like a perfectly-balanced cuvée – culture. Riesling has given us very a stunning wine region next door to special places and moments for an international city.« hundreds of years.« Peter Feldmann, Peter Seyffardt, Lord Mayor of Frankfurt am Main President of the Rheingauer Weinbauverband e. V. RHEINGAU & FRANKFURT RHINE-MAIN TASTE STRIKING – Rheingau Riesling 12 INDULGENT – Restaurants & wine taverns 14 SPARKLING – Rheingau sparkling wine 16 OUTSTANDING – The region’s wine elite 18 »Gold for the Rheingau – the epitome »A latitude of 50 degrees north – of excellence among all German wine the cultural landscape of our tourism regions.« Rheingau offers fascinating variety at Diana Nägler, every time of year.« CEO, Rheingau-Taunus Burkhard Albers, Kultur und Tourismus GmbH District Administrator, Rheingau-Taunus District RHEINGAU & FRANKFURT RHINE-MAIN ENJOY MOTIVATING – Hiking & walking 20 UNUSUAL – Statistics & climate 23 JOYOUS – FESTIVALS & EVENTS 24 IMAGINATIVE – Architecture, design & art 26 DREAMY – Hotels & guest houses 28 ORIGINAL – Mementoes & souvenirs 30 DIVERSE 10 special experiences 32 »Wherever indulgence is at home, – »Wine as a refined drink – an the people know how to have a good inspiration and motif even for the time – be it in a relaxed or elegant Old Masters. As can be seen in style fashion, in the vineyards themselves or in Frankfurt’s museums.« on Wiesbaden’s Schlossplatz Square.« Thomas Feda, Martin Michel, CEO, Tourismus+Congress GmbH CEO, Wiesbaden Marketing GmbH Frankfurt am Main TITLE PHOTO Jason Sellers; Glas Wine Classics Select Riesling Grand Cru from Zwiesel Kristallglas 1872, PHOTOS CONTENT (top, left to right) Jason Sellers; Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main; (centre, left to right) Deutsches Weininstitut; Johannisberger Weinvertrieb KG; (bottom, left to right) Wiesbaden Marketing GmbH – Oliver Hebel; U. Edelmann – Städel Museum – Artothek RMV=AZ-WineGuide_A4_E=150522.indd 1 03.06.15 15:48 RHEINGAU WINE FRANKFURT RHEIN-MAIN ERKENNENDISCOVER INVITING TWO IMPRESSIONS Idyllic vineyards – vibrant city. The Rheingau winegrowing area and the city of Frankfurt am Main offer exciting contrasts. But geographically they are neighbours. One strong element unites them: wine. PHOTO Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main PHOTO Jason Sellers 2 3 RHEINGAU WINE FRANKFURT RHEIN-MAIN ERKENNENDISCOVER HISTORIC THE HISTORY OF WINEGROWING At first it was the unsafe home of Barbarians for the wine loving Romans; for monks it later became a successful winegrowing centre. The discovery of late vintage wines (Spätlese) was an accident – an unexpected piece of luck for winegrowers in their quest for quality. Unlike many other German winegrowing areas, it was not the from the recalcitrant Duke of Katzenelnbogen, the Cistercian Romans who were the first to grow wine here. Today’s Rheingau order turned Eberbach Abbey into a competing winegrowing was then considered unsafe, inhabited by barbarians. During centre. Instructions from Mainz actually stated that only the Third Century, the ›wine emperor‹ Probus limited himself high-yield red wine should be grown, but Count Johann von to the barbarian-free left-hand side of the Rhine. The culture Katzenelnbogen brazenly planted a new, white variety. This was of wine here begins with Emperor Charlemagne (around the start of Riesling’s triumphal march, and Rheingau 800 AD). Watching from Ingelheim, he noticed how Riesling was already a highly-regarded mark of early the snow melted on the opposite side quality by around 1475. The wine rarely kept of the Rhine and ordered grapes to be until the next year. It was harvested just as planted on what is now Johannisberg. it was drunk – immediately. Fixed harvest Another wine fan was the academic The wine was times were dictated to the districts. and later Archbishop of Mainz, Rabanus harvested just as it was Johannisberg Castle was the only Maurus, who initiated winegrowing exception, as it was owned by the Prince in Walluf. The ›Donation of Verona‹ drunk – immediately. Bishop of Fulda. The wine maker there made by Emperor Otto II gave important needed permission from Fulda before winegrowing areas to the Bishopric of they could begin the harvest. In 1775, the Mainz. Not exactly known for their abstinence, horseback messenger was 14 days late. the Benedictine monks played their part in the The Johannisberg monks were forced to watch peak of winegrowing in the Rheingau as early as 1100. helplessly as the grapes rotted on the wines. Once the Measuring 300,000 hectares, the area of Germany given over to messenger arrived, they harvested the grapes anyway and were winegrowing was three times as large as it is today! This may all amazed to find that they produced an extraordinary wine. be in part due to the fact that the nobility and church nobility This accident had led to the discovery of Spätlese and ›noble of the time drank hardly any water, preferring wine in their elite rot‹, without which there would be no Auslese, Beerenauslese Top: Then hated for his tardiness, now a hero – Statue of the Spätlese messenger PHOTO Johannisberger Weinvertrieb KG position. At the same time, protected by customs exemptions or Trockenbeerenauslese today. TEXT Volker Hummel Bottom: Historic wine presses in the Lay refectory, the former monks’ dining hall PHOTO Stiftung Kloster Eberbach – Michael Palmen 4 5 RHEINGAU WINE FRANKFURT RHEIN-MAIN ERKENNENDISCOVER FLUENT WINEGROWING TOWNS & VILLAGES 3 BURGRUINE EHRENFELS & MÄUSETURM Perched on steep cliffs, the ruined Ehrenfels Castle watches over the Rhine. The castle was once a customs station, before being replaced in 1270 by the Mäuseturm, located in the 1 LORCHHAUSEN & LORCH middle of the river. The western gateway to the Rheingau is nestled between the river and the sloped vineyards. The valley 4 NIEDERWALD MONUMENT has already begun to narrow here, the slopes are Germania looks down proudly over the Rhine – the imperial becoming steeper and the road along the banks is crown in her right hand and the imperial sword in her left. winding. The small historic old town of Lorch is well The 38 m-high statue looking over Rüdesheim symbolises the THE RHINE worth a visit. On a small cliff above Lorchhausen sits the rebuilding of the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian parish church and, above it, Clemenskapelle Chapel. War of 1870/71. The summit can be reached by cable car is 1,230 kilometres in length and from Rüdesheim or chairlift from Assmannshausen. The 2 ASSMANNSHAUSEN flows almost exclusively in a north-westerly Niederwald temple and the magical cave in direct proximity From the red wine arbour in Assmannshausen, to Germania are also worth a visit. direction. Between Wiesbaden and Rüdesheim, hikers have a magnificent view across the steep it makes a characteristic turn. This is good news for slopes and down into the romantic Rhine Valley. 5 RÜDESHEIM AM RHEIN the winegrowing region here – the vineyards are on The town is famous for its tradition of red wine The home of ›Rhineland joviality‹: the world-famous sunny, south-facing slopes, while the Rhine also stores and for Pinot Noir. Drosselgasse is a street for singing, dancing and feasting. Millions of visitors from all over the world flood through heat. Magnificent wines also thrive on the Main River, the 144 m-long alley every year. Brömserburg Castle houses and the most easterly section of the Rheingau is in the Rheingauer Winemuseum, where visitors can admire fact in the heart of Frankfurt. We present the indi- Roman goblets and ancient copper tools. Above the town, vidual winegrowing villages and the two cities the towers of St. Hildegard Abbey stretch up to the sky. Benedictine monks still live there today, running their own of Wiesbaden and its bigger neighbour, winery, among other activities. Frankfurt. TEXT Sina Listmann PHOTO Deutsches Weininstitut – Thomas Hartmann 6 7 RHEINGAU WINE FRANKFURT RHEIN-MAIN ERKENNENDISCOVER 6 GEISENHEIM 11 RAUENTHAL/MARTINSTHAL The winegrowing town of Geisenheim is incredibly The Bubenhäuser Hill is a very special viewpoint. The hill important for the future of the region. The next generation of 9 EBERBACH ABBEY 10 KIEDRICH offers a unique view of the Rheingau and its good wind winegrowers study at Hochschule Geisenheim University. Not far from Hallgarten is Eberbach Abbey. In the Middle Located right next door to Eberbach Abbey, the village of conditions make it a paradise for kite flyers, especially at the Ages, the former Cistercian abbey was one of the world’s Kiedrich is also known as the ›treasure chest of Gothicism‹. weekend. The ›Martinsthaler Wildsau‹ vineyard site is so 7 JOHANNISBERG most successful wine trading companies. Twelve massive The Basilica St. Valentin is worth a visit. The ruined castle famous that a memorial has been dedicated to it. Close to the village of Johannisberg is Johannisberg Castle. historic wine cellars bear witness to this power and the Scharfenstein protrudes from the vineyards. The former Benedictine abbey is today home to a farm rich harvests to this day. Eberbach Abbey is today a state 12 ELTVILLE AM RHEIN winery with a restaurant. It is world-renowned as the winery of Hessen. The imposing Romanesque and early The wine and rose town right on the banks of the Rhine ›birthplace of Spätlese‹. Gothic rooms and halls have even served as the backdrop is home to one of the Rheingau’s most romantic riverside for numerous films, such as ›The Name of the Rose‹, promenades.