Rheingau Wine Region

For about thirty kilometres the Rhine turns west, and the right bank tilts south into the sun. That accident of geography made the Rheingau: slate and quartzite slopes above the river planted overwhelmingly with Riesling, plus a pocket of Spatburgunder around Assmannshausen where the rock changes. The Cistercians at Kloster Eberbach cleared much of it from the twelfth century, and their monastery still stands inland in a wooded side valley with a hall of enormous old wooden wine presses. Above Johannisberg, the story goes, a late-arriving harvest order produced the first Spatlese in 1775. A marked Riesling path runs the ridge, and estates pour by the glass through the summer.

What you actually see

• Kloster Eberbach - the Cistercian monastery inland, with its bare lay refectory and old wine presses.
• The Riesling path - a marked ridge walk above the vineyards running east from Rudesheim.
• Assmannshausen - the red wine pocket, planted with Spatburgunder on different rock.
• Harvest season - hand picking on the steepest parcels through September and October.

When to go

May to October covers leaf, festivals and harvest, with September and October adding picking and the best colour on the slopes. Estates open tasting rooms mainly Friday to Sunday outside high summer, and the smaller growers want a phone call first. Winter closes most of it down. The ridge path is exposed, so start early on hot days.

Honest expectations

Rudesheim's central lane is a coach-tour bottleneck and bears little relation to the rest of the region. Tastings and driving do not mix and the villages are strung out, so plan around the train or a bike. Estate visits often need an appointment made in German. The steep vineyard tracks are loose underfoot and offer no shade whatsoever.

Nearby

The Rhine gorge downstream, Wiesbaden's spa quarter and the ferries across to the Nahe valley.