Forget the Beer — Germany is for Wine Lovers

(YahooTravel) - Booze hounds of the world hear “Germany” and immediately bark back, “Beer!”

This is unfortunate. Not that we mean to put down a nice Bavarian weissbier, and we certainly have nothing against being served it by an attractive German in a dirndl, but those who care about a Riesling with the aroma of garlands, or a fruit-and-mineral-rich Chardonnay should take a drive through the wine region of Rhineland-Palatinate on the southwest corner of Germany.

The scenery is some of the most striking in Europe, from the medieval architecture to the lush fertile fields dotted with vineyards to the picturesque hills; the excellent wines (mostly white) are largely unavailable in America; and the food is plentiful and traditional, but with enough new interpretations to keep it exciting.

Snaking through Rhineland-Palatinate is a 50-mile-long Weinstrasse (aka Wine Road) that touches about 130 different villages, each seeming to have vines growing out of the architecture, with dozens of wineries usually having their own vinotheks (wine stores).

Smack in the middle of the region is Bad Kreuznach, a picturesque spa town at the center of the action and home to Korrell winery, a welcoming family-owned spot that has been in the wine business since 1832. Its small tasting room, which opened in 2003, also sells jars of jam and dried pastas.

With patience and care, Pritta Korrell, the owner, or one of the experienced attendants, will explain the three different soils in which their grapes are grown (limestone and chalk; sandstone; volcanic soil). She’ll then pour a 2011 Fruhburgunder J.K. (a pinot noir — one of the few reds) or a 2013 Grauer Burgunder (a pinot gris), which has been fermented in steel tanks (which Pritta will happily show off) and has a fruity nose but not too fruity a taste — which, she adds, would go very well with fish.

Some of the local wineries are more eager to show off the fields where their grapes are grown like the Siefersheimer Kraeuterhexen at the Moebus winery in Siefersheim, which offers a walking tour of their herbal garden nestled among the vineyards (because nobody can live on wine alone).