The Moselle at Winningen
Winningen
Patchwork of Terraces by Winningen
Heights of the Moselle
View of the Clos and Chalon
Vines and Pines by Chateau Montaigu
Slopes of Mercurey
Gallery January 2019
Tag Archives: Terraced Moselle
On Witches and Wine
On a dark December day, Christmas Eve 2017, the raw wind cut like a knife atop the Hexen Berg above Winningen. The beautiful views of the Moselle Valley from above, belied an ugly past here. Hexen Berg means Witch Mountain, and here, from 1641 to 1651, many so-called witches were cruelly burned alive during a period of great superstition and intolerance.
Wine Notes: Terraced Moselle
What I Learned:
Germany’s Moselle River region is as an important wine-producing area in Germany as the Rhine region. Called the “Mosel,” in German, it is also important to the wine industries in Luxembourg, and Lorraine, France. It is the oldest wine producing region in Germany.
The Moselle is famous for its slate. Ribs of the stuff poke out from the earth, and chunks of it cover the ground under the vines. While the Moselle is not as long as the Rhine, it is so diverse as it flows northeast through Germany, that it can be divided into distinct wine areas. Germans refer to these Moselle sections as the Upper Moselle, beginning at the French border, the Middle Moselle, and the Lower Moselle, ending at Koblenz.
Hexenpfad: Trail in a Nutshell
Trail Name: Winninger Hexenpfad
Trail Type: Short distance; well-maintained, varied surfaces (grass, earthen, paved; signage good in some places, but lacking in others along the trail
Length: 8 kilometers/5 miles
Convenient to: Koblenz, Germany
Marking: Red witch on a white background (See photo above.)