Contained within the region, the German Wine Route or Wine Road is the oldest of Germany's tourist wine routes. The Pfalz or Palatinate wine region makes up about 5% of the Palatinate, but is Germany's second largest producer of fine wine. What this means for the traveler is good food and wine, interesting villages, and a wealth of festivals to attend, especially around harvest time.
After spending just a few days in the Pfalz wine region, I deemed the German Wine Route my favorite part of Germany.
Below is a map showing the villages along the central Germany wine road--it continues to the south, where it becomes the French wine road starting around Strasbourg as well as to the north
. The area of the map is shown on the map of Germany as the area represented by the green rectangle within the Rhineland - Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) state of Germany.
German Central Wine Road Map
The Best Towns Along the German Wine Route
St. Martin is worth a stop for its landscape, architecture, wine shops and tasting rooms. Edenkoben is a compleling stop as well.
Neustadt, with a full name of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, is a pleasant market town with half-timbered buildings and we recommend staying there. Have lunch in the main market square, and be sure to visit the famous "odd animals spitting fountain," the Elwedritsche fountain.
The town is at the midway point of Germany’s wine route, the Deutsche Weinstrasse, and is surrounded by rolling hills of vineyards. There are more than 5,000 acres of vineyards, which produce 20 million bottles of wine annually, according to the city’s tourist office
That’s enough wine for a glass for every German citizen every day. -- Neustadt: Like wine? Then raise a glass in German city
Leinsweiler is a municipality in Südliche Weinstraße district, west of Landau as you see on the map. It is here you'll find our favorite restaurant along the wine road, the Hotel Restaurant Rebman. You can stay at the hotel and use of for a hub to explore the rest of the German Wine Route as well as the French wine route through Alsace.
To the west of the German Wine Road are the hills of the Palatinate Forest Reserve, with many castles (including the Burg Frankenstein to the northwest of Neustadt), hiking trails, and picnic areas.
Eating Along the German Wine Road
This is wine country, so expect good food. If you thought that german food was heavy with sausage and sourkraut, be prepared to be suprised by how the cuisine has evolved in this corner of Germany. We ate very well at the Hotel Restaurant Rebman , a former winegrower's house from the 16th century across from the town hall. The family also owns the bread and pastry shop nearby, which is verh hands when the dish calls for really good bread crumbs
Make no mistake, you can pair your wine with the traditional foods of the region as well. The local dish of Rhineland-Palatinate, the Saumagen, was invented in the 18th century by farmers. It's a pig stomach stuffed with vegetables and roasted. There are jazzed up versions along the route, utilizing the region's potatoes and truffles. But don't worry if you're a bit squeamish about the stomach, there are also figs.
German Wine Route Pictures
