Vertiginous vineyards
A version of this article appeared in The Irish Times
The Moselle — vines and views down the valley
The Bremmer Calmont vineyards are blessed — a slaty terrain, a south-facing aspect, and a few months where the temperature is around freezing, ideal so that the roots of the vines can rest. In fact the only problem is having to work at an angle of 70 degrees.
ON YOUR visit to the steepest vineyard in the world, the Bremmer Calmont on the banks of the Moselle River, you need to take quite seriously the faded grey notice-board at the start of the walk. The translation, perhaps not written by a native English speaker, seems heartfelt enough: “Sure-footedness very essential; only for experienced hikers; freedom from vertigo is essential.”
Not a leisurely stroll through leafy vineyards, then. The trail, which connects the villages of Bremm, Ediger-Eller and Neef, skirts along the top of vineyards growing at a gradient of up to 70 per cent. And you’ll need the help of a via ferrata to get you there. Lose your grip on the steel hawsers at the hairier bits of the route and you’ll plunge headlong through the pinot noir vines into the Moselle Valley hundreds of feet below.
To be fair, they lose very few people. None, in fact – Ernst Büscher from the German Wine Institute (Deutsches Weininstitut) dismissed my worries and instead stressed the importance of good slate to the production of strong vines. Ditto the serendipity of also having a steep, south-facing valley wall. I nodded blankly, and duly embarked on this perilous hike with all the commitment of a kamikaze pilot flying his tenth mission.
A ruined castle near the town of Bernkastel-Hues. There are so many castles in these parts that in comparison, Scotland look undefended
As you’re now reading this, you’ll have correctly surmised that I made it. No need for that little news item next week: “Irish Times journalist in vineyard death plunge. Friends say, ‘It’s how he would have wanted to go.’”
The Bremmer Calmont Vineyard plunges almost vertically down on the sinuous Moselle. On the narrow paths high above the river you’ll meet young and old, all apparently oblivious to the precipitous gradient. They’ll wish you Guten Tag as they nonchalantly squeeze between you and a drop of several hundred feet. Their eyes will be fixed, not on the path ahead, but on bucolic views across the Moselle: the Augustinian convent shrouded in wispy pillars of mist at the water’s edge; the vine leaves rustling gently as a light breeze soughs along the river; the Hunsrück and Eifel Hills through which the Moselle Valley has been carved. As you hang on like grim death to the steel pitons you may very well feel this is as close to being trapped in a Monet painting as you can get.
Of course there are gentler ways of experiencing the Moselle Valley. You might simply choose to float down the river.
Watercraft are available from any number of water sports centres such as the Freizelitanlage Fun Beach. Yes, I know ‘fun’ is one of the most ominous words in the English language. Undaunted, we headed downriver in our canoe - negotiating the odd rapids - and to be honest, well, it was rather fun.
IF YOU paddle your canoe far enough, you eventually come to the oldest city in Germany.
Augusta Treverorum, as the Romans called Trier, was founded by Augustus Caesar. The Romans proceeded to stick around for the next few centuries, seduced by this fertile land and its beguiling produce.
Trier was basically the headquarters of the Roman civil service west of the Rhine. This is where they’ll have made their decision not to go to Ireland. You can almost hear them: “Hibernia? Eh, nah." Having got that out of the way, somebody will have been put in charge of introducing the local Moselle population to growing vines.
"Veni, Vidi, Velcro" — I came, I saw, I stuck around. Thus nearly spake Augustus Caesar. The Romans certainly left their mark on this westerly outpost of the empire: Trier still has the Porta Nigra gate, the ruins of Roman baths, an amphitheatre, and a bridge over the Moselle.
It’s a familiar enough story. The Romans arrived, told the indigenous folk where to get off, and established both garrisons and grapes. Trier currently has seven separate UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The most imposing Roman edifice is the huge Porta Nigra, the fortified gateway of the city walls. Despite Karl Marx having been born just a stone’s throw away, the only graffiti scrawled on the wall today says: “Trier nein danke.” Search me.
Familiar European history then unfolded. The Emperor Charlemagne brought some order to the chaos wrought by various Vandals, Visigoths and Goths. The way was now clear for religious orders to thrive, foremost being the Cistercians from Burgundy - with their little alcoholic bag of tricks. They quickly set about forgiving the sins of the people of the Moselle Valley, the while reinvigorating the wine industry.
Harvest time — the precious produce has to be collected by hand. No self-respecting machine would agree to work on a gradient like this
The Catholic church of Trier still owns the most extensive wine estates hereabouts. Pop into the Episcopal Wine Estates of Trier, Bischöfliche Weingüter, Gervasiusstrasse 1, Trier, 00-49-6511-45760, www.fwgtrier.com for sampling.
The High Cathedral of Saint Peter in Trier
Meanwhile, Trier Cathedral is home to the Holy Tunic, sometimes the Holy Robe. The garment, with a recorded history back to the 12th century, claims to be the holy clobber Jesus was wearing when he died. If true, it’s impressive enough; judge for yourself at regular intervals throughout the year when the garment is on show.
If you’re in the market for this sort of thing, the nearby medieval church of St. Matthias Abbey holds the relics of St Matthew. Needless to say this is disputed — bones of contention surround most holy reliquaries in Europe.
Whatever about their religious swag, the church, hand-in-hand with secular wine merchants, turned the Moselle Valley into one of the world’s prime viticulture areas.
More than half of the crop is riesling, ripening very late in the year. The resultant flavour is just as sweet and ripe as in hotter growing areas, but during the long period of maturation the vines have more time to take in minerals from the slaty terrain. This ensures the wines display an enormous complexity of flavours alongside relatively low alcoholic content.
The most famous wines of the Moselle Valley are the rieslings, but significant quantities of pinot noir, pinot gris, silvaner and ‘southern’ varieties such as chardonnay, merlot and cabarnet sauvignon are also grown. Any number of vineyards along the ‘Riesling Route’ offer overnight accommodation – and of course a glass or two of wine accompanied by a lesson in wine-growing. The Moselle is a place which rewards those not in a hurry.
Choosing cruising — a gentle way to see the Moselle Valley
You can also choose to cruise. From Easter until the end of October an armada of boats caters for every taste (and tipple): short cruises up the river, romantic evening trips, music and dance trips, wine-sampling cruises – viticulture voyages of every description.
A good starting off point is the town of Traben Trarbach, straddling the Moselle. A prim place with its cobbled streets and well-tended window boxes, it does, however, feature some very fanciful art nouveau villas. But the Jugendstil buildings boast little worthwhile graffiti either – no “Dada wouldn’t buy me a Bauhaus” type of thing.
The town’s prosperity came from - need I say - wine. In the 19th century a trade alliance was forged between Prussians and local Protestants. It just sounds like the sort of joint enterprise destined to succeed, Prods and Prussians, and so it was.
Traben Trarbach flourished.
The town is a good place to sample the region’s other alcoholic specialities, peach liqueurs and grape schnappes. I’m not quite sure how these fit in with the wine production - seated on a veranda overlooking the river I was more concerned with the spirit of the thing.
Traben Trarbach is also notable in one other respect, and here I can justifiably employ that travel writer’s excellent standby – it truly is a land of contrasts. But only as far as hotels are concerned. Within the town you’ll find hostelries and gasthauses serving everything from the lightest riesling kabinett to the finest Weissburgunder pinot blanc with pride and panache.
But just outside Traben Trarbach stands a hotel which serves no alcohol at all.
Isn’t that the most extraordinary thing?
To the best of my knowledge (I didn’t visit) it is also vegetarian, and practises ayurvedic medicine. Not sure what time the karaoke kicks off at, mind.
A wine-less hotel is certainly a phenomenon here. But don’t get the wrong idea: if you tend to use food merely for sobering up, the Moselle Valley may come as something of a revelation. The light wines of the area are ideal accompaniments for a wide variety of dishes, and that’s how they’re used. Whether in a traditional restaurant serving Teutonic fare or in any of the Michelin-starred restaurants which adorn the area, you’ll be served exactly the correct wine. You may have heard that the German sense of humour is no laughing matter; this could equally be applied to their wine culture. It is taken very seriously indeed.
The Moselle is an area of arresting beauty, a land worked by people passionate about their trade, and more than happy to share that knowledge with visitors - tourists and tipplers have long been welcome here. On our visit, we were indulged to the very limit, but eventually managed to get the hang of all that epicurean hospitality.
It’ll be the non-alcoholic hotel next time, though. Promise.
WHERE TO STAY
The Jugendstilhotel Bellevue — an art nouveau gem in Traben -Trarbach
Jugendstilhotel Bellevue, Moselufer, 00-49-6541-7030 Traben-Trarbach
A traditional Teutonic hotel housed in an art nouveau building overlooking the river. The slate-covered turret shaped like a champagne bottle is particularly fitting. Double rooms from €135
Park Plaza Trier, Nikolaus-Koch-Platz 1, Trier,
00-49-6519-9930, www.parkplaza-trier.de. Situated on the edge of the town centre, the Park Plaza is much more idiosyncratic than its prolix name might suggest. You always get the feeling in Park Plazas that if you phoned room service and asked them to send up grapes, whipped cream and a trapeze, they’d oblige. Double rooms €97
Hotel Nicolay zur Post, Uferallee 7, Zeltingen-Rachtig, 00-49-653-293910, www.hotel-nicolay.de. In the heart of the Moselle, this hotel is the perfect place to sleep it off - sauna, pool, jacuzzi. Currently offering 5 nights B&B, 4 three course meals for €269 pps.
INFORMATION:
Mal Rogers was a guest of the German Wine Institute
Mal Rogers