Mayschoß and the Rotweinwanderweg

German wine – it’s had a bit of a renaissance over recent years but before that, it was the stuff of grannies and let’s be honest, for the last few generations it’s had a rough ride thanks to sickly sweet wines like Black Tower and Blue Nun. But you know what? Before all that, it was the stuff of legend. The Victorians were wild for German wines, especially wines hailing from the Rhine and Ahr Valley. In fact, places like Mayschoß (pronounce the ß like two s’s, so Mayschoss) have been producing wines since the 1860’s. This article from The Guardian is well worth a read if you have time but for now, I want to pull out a brilliant quote which sums it up nicely:

“For a few glorious decades, they [German wines] were the toast of the town – a hock and seltzer was Oscar Wilde’s aperitif of choice, and a Rudesheim riesling was served with the poached salmon and mousseline sauce in the first class dining room the night the Titanic went down.”

In October, we spent a week in Cologne and went out to visit the Ahr Valley with one purpose in mind. To walk the famous Rotweinwanderweg, drop in on a few vineyard tasting sessions and discover German wine for ourselves. The Rotweinwanderweg (red wine trail) runs for 35 km between Altenahr and Bad Bodendorf and there are plenty of well-signposted routes of various lengths, taking in stunning views, pretty towns and row upon row of vines.

Bad Neuenahr to Lohrsdorf

We were very lucky with the weather which, as you can see, was stunning. Mid 20’s, blazing sun and blue skies greeted us as we jumped off the train in Bad Neuenahr and walked to Heppingen to start our day on the trail. From Heppingen we walked to Lohrsdorf across the top of the valley along the way.

After several hours of walking, getting lost at one point and never a public-facing vineyard in sight, we decided to jump back on the train. It was pretty crowded which meant we were definitely headed in the right direction. That direction was Mayschoß – at the other end of the wine trail. The nice thing is that the train runs through most of the towns so you can get off the trail at several points, breaking it up into just the distances you’re comfortable walking. Between September and October, the whole area comes alive (especially on the weekend) with wine festivals and the bigger towns like Mayschloß and Remagen are full of revellers. It’s a great time to visit.

Festivities in Mayschosß

Mayschoß is a really pretty place. You arrive on the train to a chocolate box station building (now a cafe) and the town folds out ahead of you. One long main street winds it’s way along the valley edge, ending in a kind of square opposite a mountain. The whole place was alive with people and most of the shops and bars and restaurants had stalls out on the street selling food and wine.

Although the area is most know for it’s rich and spicy Spätburgunder variety (pinot noir), we tried a few different wines that day, most of which were actually white. We tried very typical varieties for the area – Riesling and Frühburgunder to name two. These were both light and very fresh making them very drinkable in that hot midday sun!

The Federweißer though was our favourite. Mainly because it’s a type of wine we’d never tried before. It translates to ‘feather white’ and is easily recognisable by its cloudy, yellow colour. I actually thought people were drinking cider, to begin with! In fact, we were lucky to try this wine as it’s only available in September and October. It’s a young wine made with early harvest white grapes. The cloudy appearance is due to the fact that it’s just beginning its fermentation and is unfiltered. It’s a sweet, almost fizzy wine which reminds me a bit of kombucha and because it’s high-sugar it’s also low-alcohol which means it’s a very refreshing drink perfect for an afternoon wine festival!

Festival eats

On the food front, we ate lots of snacky things – stopping at each bar or stall along the main street. We ate a lot that day, soaking up the wine as we went but there were two things we loved the most. Firstly, the bratwurst with onions and mushrooms served with a slab of cheap white bread but totally delicious. Secondly, the Kartoffelpuffer which are potato fritters served with a sour apple puree. We ate them both out on the street with a glass of wine. Perfect festival grub.

If you’re into wine and find yourself in northwest Germany over the autumn, you really must visit the Ahr Valley. It’s a stunning bit of the world. It’s also full of energy with endless mini-festivals all over the region. We didn’t see many non-Germans there but everyone was friendly and up for a great time. We saw people of all ages singing and dancing and generally just having a great time.

To find out more about visiting the Ahr Valley and walking the Rotweinwanderweg, take a look at Romantic Germany or Mayschoss.de for info on their October festival.

If you’re interested in reading more about wine, here are a few things you might be interested in: 

• A wine masterclass at The Olive Branch – UK
• 4 great Yarra Valley wineries – Australia
• Talking wine with Susy Atkins – UK