A Mosel bike tour from Piesport to Trittenheim
An ebike wine tour in the famous Mittelmosel in Germany’s beautiful Mosel wine region
The famous Mosel loop - or ‘Moselschleife’ at Trittenheim in the Middle Mosel - Source: Winekeller
The middle section of Germany’s Mosel wine region, with its world-famous vineyards and stunning scenery, is said to be the ‘Mosel heartland’. The ‘Mittelmosel’ or ‘Middle Mosel’ can be defined by two distinct areas - the vineyards around the famous village of Piesport and those around the popular and well-known wine town of Bernkastel-Kues.
We spent a wonderful few days in beautiful Piesport, discovering its vineyards and wines and enjoyed a memorable one day bike and wine tour exploring one of the most famous sections of the Mosel river, between Piesport and Trittenheim.
Read on to see what we discovered - and watch the video below!
The Middle Mosel (Mittelmosel)
The 120 kilometre section of the Mosel between the city of Trier in the south and the wine town of Reil in the north, is called the Middle Mosel region. After Reil, you enter the Lower Mosel or Terrassen Mosel.
This section of Germany’s Mosel wine region is where many famous Mosel wineries and vineyards are located - it’s also a beautiful stretch of the River Mosel where it flows between the low mountain ranges of Eifel and Hunsrück. This is the perfect destination for wine lovers and wine tourists, not just because of the vast array of top winemakers and top wines here, but the stunning scenery, the quaint wine villages, the excellent cuisine and hospitality and the chance to explore and appreciate one of Europe’s most beautiful rivers.
Also read here about our visit to the Mittelmosel vineyards of Bernkastel-Kues.
The typical steep hills and vineyards of the Middle Mosel around Piesport - Source: Winekeller
Piesporter wines in the Mittelmosel
The Mosel Valley is the most famous wine region in Germany and its oldest too, with winemaking here dating back some 2000 years. Vines were first planted on the steep slate slopes of the Mittelmosel, around the wine town of Piesport, by the Romans in the 4th century and Roman remains feature prominently all along this section of the Mosel Valley today.
Leading down to the beautiful, twisting turns of the Mosel river below, the spectacular steep, south and south-west facing slopes, rising over 200m in some places, offer optimum exposure to the full heat of the sun, providing perfect growing conditions for the famous Mosel Riesling wine.
All along the stretch of the Mosel river, from Piesport in the north to Thörnich in the south there is a succession of excellent and exceptional vineyards, especially clustered around the wine villages of Piesport and Trittenheim. The top vineyards are all on the steep slopes and are mostly planted with Mosel Riesling, with some pockets of Pinot noir, whilst the flatter river banks tend to be planted with German wine grapes such as Müller Thurgau and other crops.
The huge south-facing ampitheatre leading down to Piesport an der Mosel - Source: Winekeller
Piesporter Riesling and Piesporter Goldtröpfchen
The beautiful wine village of Piesport an der Mosel lies in a natural, south-facing ‘bowl’ or ampitheatre on the slopes of the Eifel riverbank, in the middle of a large loop in the Mosel. The town, with its stunning, distinctive church lies close to the river, with the steep, world-famous Piesporter Goldtröpfchen vineyard rising behind it.
The Piesporter Goldtröpfchen is one of the Mosel’s largest top vineyards, with some 65 hectares of vines planted in deep, clay-like slate soils, protected from chill winds by cliffs to the north, producing stunning, honeyed wines, predominantly Riesling, of exceptional quality.
Top producers of Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling include Reinhold Haart, Julian Haart, Nik Weis St Urbans-Hof and Hain (see later).
The stunning, world-famous Piesport Goldtröpfchen vineyard overlooking Piesport - Source: Winekeller
Trittenheimer Apotheke vineyard
The wine village of Trittenheim sits in the middle of an incredibly spectacular and very famous tight loop in the Mosel River, called a ‘Moselschleife’ (see later).
Here, similar to Piersport, there are some top Mosel vineyards, the most famous and top of them all, the steep Trittenheimer Apotheke vineyard, which lies across the river, northeast of the town. This famous, exposed slope above the Mosel produces some excellent wines, from top producers such as Clüsserath-Weiler, Franz-Josef Eifel and Grans-Fassian.
The Trittenheimer Apotheke vineyard
The world-famous Mosel vineyard
Our Mosel bike tour
During our 3 day stay in Piesport we set out for a day’s ebike wine tour to discover the wines and scenery of the stretch of the Mosel between Piesport and Trittenheim.
Our base and Piesport Hotel
As we descended the steep roads of the Piesporter Goldtröpfchen vineyard it’s hard to find the words to adequately describe the stunning views down to the river and through the valley. This is a really spectacular and unspoiled stretch of the Mosel river and Mosel wine region and it just takes your breath away!
We were based in beautiful Piesport, at the fabulous ‘Goldtröpfchen’ Wine Hotel, at the foot of the town’s famous vineyard, right by the church and the bridge crossing the Mosel.
The superb Goldtröpfchen Wine Hotel in Piesport - Source: Winekeller
The ‘Goldtröpfchen’ Wine Hotel is owned and managed by the Hain family, who also happen to be one of Piesport’s top wine producers, Weingut Hain. The original house dates back to 1600 and today offers, along with a new extension, 14 guest rooms.
The ‘Goldtröpfchen’ Wine Hotel has an excellent reputation for dining and offers dinner each evening except on Wednesdays when they are closed (high season). There is an indoor restaurant as well as a lovely, large terrace, with views over to the river. We ate at the hotel a couple of times and absolutely loved the food, wines and hospitality - we can highly recommend it!
The hotel has a cellar for bikes and it was just so easy and convenient to store and prepare our bikes here and then head off down the river in the direction of Trittenheim.
Weingut Hain wines can be purchased from Tanners Wines in the UK. See here for details.
Piesport - Trittenheim by bike
The journey along the river bank from Piesport to Trittenheim is only about 10kms each way - so a gentle bike ride, especially for those with ebikes! The bike paths are well-signed, wide and easy to follow.
The scenery is just stunning, with lovely views of the Mosel and the vineyards.
As mentioned earlier, there are also some very interesting reminders of the long wine history here and Roman times, including:
The Roman wine press in Piesport
Just minutes after leaving our hotel, on the cycle path we came upon the remains of an original Roman wine press, built by the Romans at the foot of the Piesporter Goldtröpfchen vineyard and designed to press the grapes and then quickly transport the wines by boats on the river. The press has been restored and partially rebuilt and it provides a fascinating insight into winemaking on the Mosel in Roman times!
The Roman remains at Neumagen-Dhron
In between Piesport and Trittenheim lies the town of Neumagen-Dhron which just happens to be the oldest wine town in Germany, with lots of amazing Roman relics and remains, including a superb replica of a Roman wine ship, the Stella Noviomagi. This fabulous ship is moored on the riverfront and is available to book/hire for excursions and river cruises.
Neumagen-Dhron on the Mosel - the oldest wine town in Germany - Source: Winekeller
Trittenheim
Arriving into the wine village of Trittenheim, our first stop was a spot on the Mosel from where we had a great view across to the famous Trittenheimer Apotheke vineyard.
We then made our way to visit top Trittenheim wine producer, Clüsserath-Weiler, who also runs a fabulous guest house located on the banks of the Mosel in Trittenheim, offering 9 double rooms. They offer bed and breakfast and dinner for guests 2-3 times per week. The location and setting is wonderful and we would really recommend the Clüsserath-Weiler guest house as a base for exploring this section of the Mosel Valley.
In terms of the winery, the family farms 6.5 hectares of vineyards - mainly Riesling wines, which have a great reputation.
Leiwen and the Trittenheim Moselschleife
After visiting Clüsserath-Weiler we crossed the bridge and cycled towards the next village of Leiwen and the Zummethöhe viewpoint above the village. This spot offers a fantastic view of the Mosel loop (Moselschleife) between Leiwen and Trittenheim and was voted the “Most Beautiful Wine View 2016 – Moselle”.
We spent some time here enjoying our picnic lunch and the most incredible views!
Exploring by bike gives you some great opportunities to get the best views - allowing you to get to places you can’t get to by car - and we made the most of this here in the Mosel. The views are simply incredible!
Enjoying time in Piesport Mosel
Gourmet dining and enjoying the local food scene
Wherever in the world top wines are produced, you can always find top food! Chefs are attracted to top wine regions and the Mosel is a fine example of this.
If you love gourmet cuisine and excellent local food, then the Mosel wine region has lots to offer.
Gourmet Michelin star restaurants in the area:
There are some excellent options in the vicinity of Piesport and Trittenheim, including the following:
Restaurant Schanz - a 3 star restaurant in Piesport
Wein-Tafelhaus - a 1 star in Trittenheim
Visit a local ‘Straußwirtschaft’:
We always enjoy dining at a local ‘Straußwirtschaft’, which is basically a winery which opens its doors to invite guests to enjoy its wines along with a choice of local, traditional food. For us this is a great way to get to know a region, its foods, wines and cultures. They tend to offer cold and hot traditional dishes, an excellent selection of their wines and super, friendly hospitality.
Along the Mosel river between Piesport and Trittenheim there are several such restaurants, most with beautiful gardens and we can particularly recommend local winery Weingut Lehnert-Veit, which is located directly on the Mosel just across the bridge from our hotel, the Goldröpfchen Wine Hotel, which we can also highly recommend for food!
Hiking the Moselsteig
If your preference is hiking, then take a hike along the beautiful Moselsteig. Covering some 365km and split into 24 sections, with 33 additional trails, this is one of the most scenic and varied hiking routes in Germany and takes the hiker all along the vineyards, forests and steep slopes of the Mosel Valley. Sections 8 and 9 cover the area around Trittenheim and towards Bernkastel-Kues.
There are also excellent hikes around Piesport and the Piesporter Goldtröpfchen vineyard - see an excellent example here.
Cycling the Mosel cycle path - or ‘MoselRadweg’
The Mosel wine region is a wonderful destination for cyclists - the professionals or the keen amateurs like ourselves! As we have experienced, it’s safe and fun cycling in the Mosel and it’s a wonderful way to experience the spectacular scenery and sights.
The Moselradweg incorporates 248 kms of beautiful river scenery, vineyards and delightful wine villages, across 10 different stages between Perl on the German-French-Luxembourg border and the mouth of the Moselle in Koblenz.
One of Germany’s ‘Top river Routes’, the Moselradweg is a great way to discover this beautiful wine region in Germany.
For more information about visiting the beautiful Mittelmosel and Piesport see ‘VisitMosel’ and ‘Mosel Inside’.
Conclusion and personal highlights
The Mosel Valley and Mosel wine region is simply stunning - unspoiled and beautiful - and the best way by far to experience is in the saddle! Cycling in Germany and especially along the banks of its famous rivers, is easy and very rewarding and we would highly recommend you give it a go! This section of the Mosel river is so picturesque and its famous vineyards tell you everything you need to know about what a top wine region to visit this is. We loved it!
