B
y mid-morningthecobbledlanesof
Bernkastelareovertakenbytravellers
marvellingat thetown’smedieval
marketplaceandgabledhalf-timbered
houses.Thesceneis sochocolate-box,
sofairytale,it mighthavebeenthe
settingfortheBrothersGrimmfantasyabouta
coupleofnaughtykidsanda cannibalisticwitch.The
weinstuben(winetaverns)arefull,thestrudelshops
busy.Justa short,steepwalkfromtheselfie-snappers
liningupat the17th-centurytownhall,however,and
notfarfromtheremainsoftheGraachGate,builtin
1300,is a littlevineyardunnoticedbythecrowdbelow.
I pickanalleyandclimbtoa narrowroadflankedby
a highstoneterrace.Butterfliesflit,birdssing,and
thesunshinesonthemostvaluablevinesinGermany,
a vertiginoussouth-westslopeofMoselValleyriesling
withrootsdeepinsharpblueDevonianslate.
Thisis theBernkastelerDoctor,a mere3.26
hectaresofrockandvine– ungrafted,someplanted
a centuryago.It’shardtoimaginethesoilis much
differentfromthatofsurroundingplots,butthisone
certainlybenefitsfromitsstarringroleina 14th-
centurylegend.Asdepictedincarvingsona fountain
inthevillage,theregion’sgrandee,Archbishop
BoemundII,developeda sicknessthatmanytried
totreatbutnoonecouldcure– untilhewasgiven
a gooddoseofwinefromthisplot.Hemadea
miraculousrecovery,andtherevivedprelateconferred
thename“doctor”onthevineyard.Thesentiment
seemstohavespread– quitea fewMoselwineriesbear
thenamedoctor– butthisoneis themostfamous.
Itsstatusis nudgedalongbyexclusivity– thevineyard
hasbeenownedbyjusttwofamilies,namedThanisch
andWegeler,for 130 years– andintrigue,afterthe
discoveryofa secretstashofveryoldbottleshidden
ina cryptfromtheplunderersofWorldWarII.
Thegooddoctoris oneof 500 orsowineries
withvineyardsthatclingtothesteep,slatebanks
oftheMoselriverasit carvesthroughGermany.
Forthosewholovetheirwine,a cruisealongthe
curvaceousMoseloffersdramaticsceneryandthe
chancetotastethefinestrieslingsintheworldat their
source.Therivertwistsandturnsfor 544 kilometres
fromtheVosgesmountainsineasternFrance,through
LuxembourgandGermanytoitsconfluencewiththe
mightyRhineat theprettyGermantownofKoblenz.
FromheretheRhineemptiesintotheNorthSea
nearAmsterdam,whereourcruisebeginsandends.
TheCrystalBachis anchoredjusta shortwalk
fromAmsterdamCentraal,andthere’sa fulldayof
touringbeforewesetsailinwhichtocommunewith
Rembrandt,VermeerandtheDutchmastersat the
Rijksmuseum,dodgetheworld’smostassertivecyclists,
andloungeinthecity’sconvivialcanal-sidebrownbars.
DutchcaptainDouweTilstrasetssailwith 86
passengers (shy of the maximum 106), 76 crew andAbove:the
CrystalBachon
theoutskirtsof
Trier.Opposite:
housesin
Bernkastel’s
marketsquare.
PREVIOUS
PAGESLeft
andright:
viewsofMosel
rivervineyards
in Bernkastel.animpressivecollectionofwine.Likethecrew,the
winesaremainlyEuropeanandwellchosen:good
GermanMoselrieslings,ofcourse,Austriangrüner
veltliners,a Viennesegemischtersatz(fieldblend),
anda mixofGerman,Austrian,Italian,French
andCalifornianreds.Thecanalis swiftandgrey,
butinsidetheWatersideRestaurantthewaitstaff
arewarmingup,charmingthemainlyAmerican
passengerswithlemonsoleatopa richlobsterand
potatorosti,andscallopssearedinporcinibutter,
andrib-sticking“local”dishes,thelikesofpork
loinstuffedwithprunesandbloodsausagewith
napkindumplings,andbraisedbeefwithspätzle.
WearriveinDüsseldorfnextmorning,butit’s
notuntilthefollowingdaywhenwetakea turnat
Koblenz,leavingtheRhineandenteringtheslower
Mosel,thatI starttofeelthecurativeeffectsofsunshine,
a deckchair,a glassofwineanda vine-cladvalley.
TheCrystalBachslowstoa statelyadagio,keeping
pacewithcyclistsspinningalongriverpaths.Children
splashintheshallowsandwave,geeseflapandhonk
inprotest,butmostlythere’sbirdsongandbucolic
peace.Theweatherwarms.Therivertrafficthins.
AtsunriseI throwopenthecurtains,anda pair
ofwhiteswansglidesintoview.Alongwithpersonal
butlerservice,a specialfeatureofCrystalCruises’
fournew-agerivershipsis theswiftconversionofall
PHOTOGRAPHY HELEN ANDERSON rooms into open balconies at the flick of a switch.➤
(CRYSTAL BACH
) & GETTY IMAGES (BERNKASTEL).
GOURMET TRAVELLER 137