Throughmyopenwindow,thepastel-colouredtown
ofBernkastelliescentrestage,acrossa stonebridge.
Vinesascendverticallytoa ruinedcastleona ridge
above,gildedbythemorningsun.Likemanyothers,
we’redrawnlikemothstothephotogenicSpitzhäuschen,
thePointedHouse.Builtin1416,thisdoll’shouseis
amongtheoldeststructuresinBernkastel,nowa tiny
winebar.Wewanderalongtheriverfrontandsettlefor
a pre-lunchwinetastinginDoctorPauley-Bergweiler’s
coolundergroundcellar,usedfor 250 yearstostore
winefromgrapesgrowna fewmetresaway.
OurwinetastingbeginsinthevillageofLieser.
LikemanyMoselwinemakers,ThomasHaagandhis
familywelcomeguestswhocallaheadtoarrangetours
andtastings(andtheCrystalconciergedeskhappily
obliges).HaagandhiswifeUteboughttheSchloss
Lieserestateintheearly’90s,andhaverestoredthe
handsomestonebuildingsandcellarsandexpanded
theirholdingsonsevenGrandCrusites.That’s 185
plotstomanage.“EachoneI know,”saysHaagashe
poursa half-dozenofhiswinesofincreasingelegance
andcomplexityfromhisportfolioofabout 40 wines.
“I knowthesoilandI knowhowthevinesdevelop
andrespondtoa varietyofconditions.”
Nextmorningwemooron
theoutskirtsofTrier,a smallcity
bytoday’sstandardsbutonce
HQoftheWestRomanempire.
Whilesomepassengershead
toLuxembourgforlunch,only
about 15 kilometresaway,I join
a biketourofthecity.Wedrop
inat theoldestcathedralin
Germany,wheretheacoustics
aresettoetherealfora Sunday-
morningchoir.AndwespinaroundtheHauptmarkt,
thecity’slargestmarketsquare,packedwithtownhouses
whosearchitecturalinfluenceslurchfromrenaissance
andbaroquetoclassicistandlatehistoricist.“Wecall
winetheRomangift,”ourguideWolfgangsays.The
Romansplantedtheirvinesonslopesthatarestill
producingwinetoday;everyRomansoldierwasgivena
litreofwinea day,drunkdilutedwithwater.Wefindan
encyclopaediclistboundlikea bibleat a winebarcalled
DasWeinhaus,oppositethehouseinwhichKarlMarx
wasborn.I count 32 rieslingsbytheglass,andallthe
heavyhittershaveextensivevintagesandrangespacked
tothebar’srafters:JJ Prüm,Volxem,EgonMüller,
Loosen,SchlossLieser,WilliSchäfer.A friskyyoung
trockenbyDoctorLoosenis perfectwitha sunny
lunchofschnitzelandspargel,thethumb-thickwhite
asparagusthat,forme,symbolisesspringtimeinEurope.
Wepassseveraloftheregion’stopvineyardsona
driveupriverintotheSaarValley,a tributaryofthe
Mosel.Thehillsaremorepillowyhere,thenightscooler,
theslatereddish,thevineyardsmarkedbytrellisesand
rosebushes blooming at row ends, used as an indicator
ofinsectinfestation.We’reheadingtoRaevenhof,a
postcard-prettyvineyardandguesthouserunbyLydia
Reuterandher18-year-oldson.Theyproduceabout
10,000bottlesa year,mainlyriesling,thegrapespicked
byhandandnaturallyfermented.Reuterinvitesusto
tasteherwines,explainingthecomplicatedclassification
systemfortrocken(dry),feinherbe(semi-dry)and
fruchtig(sweet)riesling,andtellingstoriesof3am
harvestsforeiswein,thecomplexsweetwinemade
fromgrapesfrozenonthevineandpickedwhenthe
airtemperatureis preciselyminus-sevendegrees.
There’smorewineeducationaboardCrystalBach,
whereheadsommelierDomagojBinderandwaitstaff
encouragedinerstoaskquestionsastheypourfrom
theall-inclusivelistanda “connoisseur”listnot
includedinthetariff.Thewinesareevenmore
boutiqueintheVintageRoom,a privateroomfor
10 dinerswhobookaheadforelaboratedégustations
matchedwithGrandCrusandspecialwines.
DaysaboardCrystalBacharepunctuatedbythe
oddlyexcitingtheatreoflocknavigation.Thereareeight
ofthemonourcruise,thedarkchamberssonarrow
thattheBachis manoeuvredthroughwitha scant
15 centimetres clearoneachside.Drinksonthedeck,
meanwhile,areofteninterrupted
brieflyonapproachtolowbridges,
whenpassengersneedtobeseated
andthecleverlydesigned“pop-up”
barpopsdownas if it andthebar
staffinsideareridinganelevator.
I’monthetopdeckone
morningwhenwerounda curve
intheriverandthere,looming
ahead,is a darkcastlebristling
withparapetsandcrownedbya
turretedfairytaletower.Themedieval-eraReichsburg
castle,sackedbyFrenchtroopsinthe17thcentury
andrebuiltinthelate19thcenturyina gothic-revival
style,is thegloryofCochem.Thetown’smarktplatzis
a mishmashofhalf-timberedbuildingsandneoclassical
piles,itscobbledstreetsfullofresidentswalkingtheir
dachshunds,shopssellingwinesandvines,andstalls
dispatchingsausagesslatheredinmustard.
There’sonlysomuchwineandwursta girlcan
take,soona goldenafternoonI flickthepowerswitch
onanelectricbicycleandfollowcyclist,guideand
naturephotographerLotharLenzalongthebanks
oftheMosel.“I’vetravelledallmylifetophotograph
nature,butthesedaysI wanttofocusonwhat’sunique
here,whereI live,”hesays.Wewindthroughmeadows
fringedbyoaksandelderflower,andvineyardsdotted
withpeachtreesdistinctivetotheslopesofthisvalley.
TheAncientRomansintroducedthetreestothisregion,
andthetart,bright-redfruitofthevineyardpeachesis
usedtomakea liqueurcalledweinbergpfirsich.I down
a shotonthewaybacktotheshipthatafternoon,
before the day’s first glass of riesling.●I count 32 rieslingsby
the glass,andallthe
heavyhitters have
extensivevintages
andrangespacked
to the bar’s rafters.