The Middle Rhine Valley

The Middle Rhine begins downstream from the famous Rhine Bend of Bingen and stretches over a length of 120 km to the southern outskirts of Bonn. Here, the valley opens up and the Lower Rhine Plain begins. The main attraction of the Middle Rhine Valley is the Loreley, and it is no wonder that many wine lovers, when they think of Rhine wine, first think of the wildly romantic valley of the Rhine with its many castle ruins surrounded by vineyards.

VINEYARD AREA, GRAPE VARIETIES

With only about 570 hectares of vineyards, the Middle Rhine is one of the smallest German wine-growing regions. North of Koblenz, the vineyards are located exclusively on the right bank of the Rhine because the slopes on the left bank of the river retreat from the riverbed and are northeast-facing, so that the positive microclimate of the river cannot work as effectively.

The vineyards along the Middle Rhine are very steep and therefore very difficult to cultivate, requiring considerable manual labor and significant costs. Approximately three quarters of the steep vineyards with their weathered slate soils are planted with Riesling. The quality of these Middle Rhine wines, mostly produced by ambitious and idealistic winemakers, is high. Typically, wines from the Middle Rhine are fuller-bodied than Mosel wines and softer and lower in acidity than wines from the Rheingau. With appropriate residual sugar, they can mature in the bottle for several years and develop great flavor complexity. Approximately 40 hectares of vineyards are planted with Müller-Thurgau, 30 hectares with Pinot Noir, and the rest with Dornfelder, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Kerner, Portugieser, and Scheurebe.