Architecture worth seeing from Roman times to tempting, often chic wine shops

The Romans brought viticulture and left their mark. Who doesn't know the Porta Nigra in Trier? Many picturesque wine villages with centuries-old half-timbered houses beckon, as well as traditional wineries in magnificent villas from the Wilhelminian and Art Nouveau periods to many rustic and chic wine shops that the wineries offer.

It was the German-French-Luxembourgish GEIE Groupement européen d'intérêt économique,or the EEIG, European Economic Interest Group, founded in 2018, which invited to a competition for the most beautiful estates, places and restaurants and selected with a jury that led to this 'Moselle Architecture Route'. Many of the selected wineries offer very good restaurants and beautiful guesthouses and rooms, where the flair of the winery is combined with good food and accommodation. All continuously updated results can be found on Via Mosel, as well as on the maps presented here. The _'Moselle Architecture Route' is not a guided tour, but the destinations are to be chosen by yourself, but this should not be a problem on the basis of the maps.

Highlights on the Saar and Upper Moselle

Since the 243 km mentioned are too long for a map, we first take a look at the Upper Moselle from the border triangle to the mouth of the Saar as well as at the Saar region, which is part of the Moselle wine-growing region. The places with all selected wineries or restaurants are underlined in red and the estates or restaurants are briefly named. The selected picturesque places are labeled green. I would like to introduce some of them here:

These include in particular Viktor's Landgasthof 'Die Scheune' in Perl-Nennig (photo in the header), which belongs to Viktor's Residenz Group, where the three-star chef Christian Bau also wields the wooden spoon in Victor's Residenz-Hotel Schloss Berg in Perl-Nennig. The Giwer-Greif estate and guesthouse in Wasserliesch offers a charming ambience with selected beautiful guest rooms and holiday apartments (photo in the header). In addition to Riesling, Elbling, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc are also grown.

High above the Saar loop near Mettlach the large tourist centre Cloef Atrium is located with its state-of-the-art wine shop. The 14-hectare Estate Würtzberg in Serrig on the Saar, run by Dorothee Heim, and named after its location Würtzberg, a steep slope that rises from the Saar just below the estate, is well worth a visit. A special feature is the large and futuristic Van Volxem wine manufactory, which is enthroned on a hill above the Saar. Owner Roman Niewodniczanski is known far beyond the industry, especially for his collection of historical wine lists. Those of sophisticated Parisian hotels of the Belle Epoc prove that Moselle and Saar wines were among the world's most expensive wines at the turn of the second to the last century.

The Estate Cantzheim winery in Kanzem was partly awakened from its slumber in 2016 by Anna and Stephan Reimann and the vineyards were completely reacquired with a lot of verve. It is truly impressive, including the very good restaurant with guest rooms plus the large new 'glass' event room.

A jewel is the Estate Reverchon in Konz-Filzen with the picturesque manor house, which serves as a guest house, as well as the very well-kept park, where you can taste great wines, some of which have matured longer, under old trees, including the vinothek - worth the trip!

Beautiful places on the Middle Moselle and Ruwer

The Trier area offers a lot, first and foremost the Vereinigte Hospiezien.

Cute winegrowers' cottages as guest rooms are offered by the WeinKulturGut Longen-Schloeder in Longuich with restaurant and vinothek, lovingly run by Sabine & Markus Longen.

The very futuristic vinothek of the Regnery winery in Klüsserath also offers a beautiful view of the well-known Klüsserath Bruderschaft site, where the vines of the winery are growing, mainly Riesling as well as Pinot Noir. At the same time, beautiful guest rooms are offered. The 6 ha and 100% Riesling estate Clüsserath-Weiler (photo in the header) in Trittenheim with sites in the Trittenheimer Altärchen and the Trittenheimer Apotheke also impresses with its restaurant, where Raphael Ianniello, husband of the junior boss, Verena Clüsserath, and at the same time former student of the famous chef Johann Lafer, swings the wooden spoon. Armin Vogel at the Bastgen winery in Osann-Monzel attaches great importance to nature, which applies to a lot of manual work on his almost 5 hectares of vines as well as to a lot of wood as the building material of the manor house and the vinothek with floor-to-ceiling windows and a view of the vineyards.

The Hugo Hower winery in Lieser, operated by the Loersch family with red wine in addition to the main variety Riesling and impresses with its very cozy vinothek.

Another focus is on the Bernkastel-Kues and Traben-Trarbach region. Known far beyond the borders of Germany with a lot of exports, the VDP winery Dr. Loosen in Bernkastel owns such renowned sites as Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Ürziger Würzgarten or Erdener Treppchen, including the 1.5 ha top renowned Erdener Prälat site with up to 120-year-old ungrafted vines, whose wines, which are therefore only available in very small quantities, are highly paid. VDP stands for Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter, an association of estates, many of which have very good sites, which the association has classified, and which submit to strict quality rules that are meticulously controlled.

Visitors can enjoy historian flair in the over 100-year-old granary of the VDP winery S.A. Prüm in Bernkastel-Wehlen . The roof of the former hayloft was built using the Zollinger construction method and is reminiscent of an upside-down ship where wine tastings and events take place. The exclusive Riesling winery operates mainly on steep vineyards classified by the VDP as Große Lage, such as Wehlener Sonnenuhr or Graacher Himmelreich. The wines of the Kerpen winery, also in Bernkastel-Wehlen, mature in underground cellars behind the Art Nouveau villa, next to which centuries-old magnolia trees shade the lovingly run manor's own café with a view over the Moselle to the Wehlener Sonnenuhr site. Senior partner Martin Kerpen also acts as chairman of the traditional wine auction association DER RING Mosel 1899. A well-kept address is the Kiebel winery, guest house and restaurant in Lösnich, where the Kiebel family invites you.

Among the picturesque places worth visiting

are the larger Bernkastel-Kues, especially the picturesque district of Bernkastel on the right of the Moselle, which invites you to shop with its historic market square and narrow streets with shops.

Particularly beautiful destinations on the Lower Moselle

On the Lower Moselle from Reil to the Deutsches Eck, which is also called Terraces Moselle, the picture changes a little, as the rock towards the mouth no longer consists only of slate but also of sandstone and greywacke, and on the sometimes even steeper slopes, the vines often grow on terraces. One of the very well-known sites of this kind is, for example, the Winninger Uhlen.

Where a centuries-old cellar and half-timbered house combine beautifully with a modern vinothek is the Estate Fuchs in Pommern, run by the Fuchs family.

The Estate Schneiders-Moritz, also in Pommern, attracts visitors with a vinothek worth seeing in buildings that partly date back to the 15th century, and where a historic vaulted cellar from the 13th century also invites you to taste. Guest rooms are also offered. A cosy vinothek and a charming courtyard overgrown with greenery are offered by the Winzerhof Gietzen in Hatzenport, where Albrecht Gietzen and his family also invite you to spend holidays in the winery and to events.

An atmospheric vinothek and inviting guest rooms can be found at the Estate Fries in Löf-Kattenes with a beautiful view of the Moselle and the Thurant castle opposite. The estate is based on a centuries-old vaulted cellar. An eye-catcher is the three-storey headquarters of the Estate Freiherr von Heddesdorf in Winningen with its striking round towers, which is one of the oldest buildings in the area and over 900 years old. The 6.5 ha of vines grow for the most part in the steep slopes of Uhlen, Röttgen and Brückstück in Winningen. A number of events can be experienced throughout the year.

Interesting destinationes on the Lower Moselle

Especially on the Lower Moselle, a whole series of places and towns that are really worth visiting and worth mentioning. These include the picturesque Beilstein as well as Cochem with the fairytale castle as well as the historic Kobern-Gondorf, where the Von der Leyen Castle was situated in the way of the expansion of the main road, so that a tunnel was unceremoniously led through it, and which today houses a wine museum.

Text: Dieter Simon, editor of bonvinitas. Photo Gästehaus Giwer-Greif by: www.phormat.de; furthermore photo credits:: Christopher Arnoldi / Via Mosel, unless otherwise stated. Basicsof the maps: Moselwein e.V.