MITTELRHEIN: ROMANCE ON THE RHINE

From an American perspective, Mittelrhein is one of the lesser-known of Germany’s 13 Weinanbaugebeite, but as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003, perhaps we know it better as a tourist destination. For many day travelers from Bonn and elsewhere in Europe, Mittelrhein means leisure. For decades, it seemed, the only Mittelrhein producer you might encounter in the US is the excellent VDP estate Toni Jost, and I’m guessing very few in the US wine trade take their foot off the gas between Rheingau and Mosel appointments. But this 100-kilometer drive along the Rhine, with vineyards starting opposite Assmanshausen and ending at the outskirts of Bonn, will take you through one of Germany’s most picturesque and romantic places, complete with fairytale stories and medieval castles. 

Don’t let the extended distance from the first vineyard to the last give the wrong impression. Mittelrhein is the second smallest of Germany’s thirteen wine regions, with just 468 hectares. Part of its charm is how narrow and steep the valley is at this point on the Rhine. The famous rock cliffs you’ll pass—the Mittelrhein is the home to the Lorelei rock and legends surrounding it—and the irresistible pull of its attractive villages make it a tourist magnet. This landscape also makes strenuous demands of its winegrowers, who work almost exclusively by hand on terraced steep slopes of barren Devonian slate and quartzite soils on both sides of the Rhine. 

These are the rugged conditions in which Riesling thrives, and Riesling is the Mittelrhein’s most planted grape variety, followed by Müller-Thurgau and Spätburgunder. Riesling on slate and generally higher acidities make for natural comparisons to Mosel wines, and you’ll still find plenty of off-dry styles in this region. Steep vineyards in a northerly climate mean high labor costs, and herein lies the Mittelrhein’s greatest challenge: obtaining realistic prices. Compounding the issue is that thirsty tourists who’ve come more for the scenery are not necessarily looking to spend top dollar at the village tavern for a 750 ML of Jost Bacharacher Hahn GG. 

The market for local wines remains steady, but as of 2023, three additional Mittelrhein estates join Toni Jost in the export-minded VDP: Lanius-Knab, Ratzenberger, and Matthias Müller. During a recent visit to Weingut Matthias Müller, the top wines tasted from this estate were the dry GG Rieslings from Bopparder Hamm (Mandelstein, Feuerlay, and Engelstein). From what I can discern, Mittelrhein remains a source of quality Prädikatswein, as shown by Weingut Volk and Weinhaus Heilig Grab tasted during the same tour of the region. These producers focus on Bopparder Hamm, a 90-hectare collective site with grey and blue Devonian slate soils from a wall of steep south-facing vineyards. 

Opposite the final Rheingau village of Lorchhausen is the famous town of Bacharach, with a collection of steep, south-facing sites like Posten, Wolfshöle, and Hahn. Bacharacher Hahn is close to the Lorelei and a near monopole of Toni Jost. Its south-, southeast-facing, 55-68% steep slope consists of weathered Devonian slate and is one of the classic sites of the Mittelrhein. Boppard and Bacharach lie within the Bereich of Lorelei in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, as do other key Mittelrhein villages like Kaub, Oberwesel, and Sankt Goar. Way downstream is Königwinter on the outskirts of Bonn. Here, you’ll find the tiny 20-hectare Bereich of Siebengebirge, the final stretch of the Mittelrhein located in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, featuring mainly loam, loess, and Greywacke soils.

There are two Bereiche (districts) within the Mittelrhein Weinanbaugebiet (wine region): Loreley and Siebengebirge.