We explore this beautiful section of the Mosel wine region Germany and discover two of its top organic and biodynamic wine producers

The middle section of Germany’s Mosel wine region, with its world-famous vineyards and stunning scenery, is said to be the ‘Mosel  heartland’ and one of the world’s best wine destinations. We were keen to discover the most northern section between the historic wine town of Traben-Trarbach and the small wine village of Reil an der Mosel.

This section of the Mosel wine region may not be as well known as others with their world-famous Mosel wine brands, but we want to shine a light on two excellent wine producers who are trailblazers for organic and biodynamic wines in this beautiful wine region in Germany…

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 an der Mosel in the north, is called the Middle Mosel region. After Reil, you enter the Lower Mosel or Terrassen Mosel - home to the steepest vineyards in Europe, named after the steep terraces on which the vines are planted.

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, where many famous Mosel wineries and vineyards are located.

The Middle Mosel is also a beautiful stretch of the River Mosel where it flows between the low mountain ranges of Eifel and Hunsrück, but as you get towards the lower region and close to the ‘Terrassen Mosel’ the vineyards become steeper and the scenery increasingly spectacular!

The Middle Mosel vineyards and German Mosel Riesling

The most famous and spectacular of the Middle Mosel’s famous vineyards stretch from Brauneberg in the south, through Lieser, Bernkastel-Kues, Wehlen, Graach, Zeltingen, Ürzig, Erden, Wolf, Traben-Trarbach and Reil.

These are some of the world’s best vineyards, producing spectacular, world-class German Rieslings and also some fine Spätburgunders (Pinot noir). This is also home to some of the world’s best wine makers, including Dr. Loosen, JJ Prüm and Markus Molitor.

Visiting Traben-Trarbach

Traben-Trarbach straddles the River Mosel, a twin town, with Traben on the left side of the Mosel and Trarbach on the right. Traben dates back as early as 820, whereas the existence of its twin Trarbach only dates back to 1142. Due to its position on a peninsula, the town of Traben had the space to develop and grow more quickly and after the bridge was built in the late 1800s, the two towns were officially joined in 1904.

At the time of the early 1900s Traben-Trarbach was the second largest wine shipment centre in Europe after Bordeaux and was a very wealthy town. Known today as the jewel of the Middle Mosel, the large wine cellars, magnificent big art nouveau villas and a wealth of fascinating buildings with architectural treasures from art nouveau and the Belle Epoque bear witness to this.

Today, Traben-Trarbach is known for its beautiful medieval bridge gate, the symbol of the twin-town and there are lots of other cultural and historic sights to explore here.

It’s also a bustling wine town, with lots of opportunities for wine tasting, sampling the local food and wellness and leisure activities! You can also take a Mosel river cruise from here to Bernkastel-Kues which is a lovely way to experience the region.

Hotels in Traben-Trarbach

• Hotel Bellevue Traben Trarbach - a beautiful hotel directly on the river with a fabulous beauty and wellness area - great for relaxation and pampering (69 rooms);

• Hotel Goldene Traube - a lovely comfortable, newly renovated, modern hotel;

• Moselleschlösschen Spa & Resort -  the Hotel Moselschlösschen in Traben-Trarbach is a luxurious 5 star adult-only spa and resort, located on the banks of the River Mosel and catering to your every need, with a special focus on ‘wellness’.

Restaurants in Traben-Trarbach

• Restaurant Die Graifen - glass-roofed restaurant with eclectic furnishings, serving refined French & Mediterranean dishes;

• Restaurant Belle Epoque - Hotel Bellevue - there’s a reason this hotel is also known as the ‘Romantik hotel Traben-Trarbach’! Dine in this beautiful restaurant (and on the terrace in fine weather), with its fabulous art nouveau design features, superb views and excellent modern/French inspired cuisine (also Restaurant Stuebchen);

• Restaurant ‘Die Mosel’ - tapas ‘fusion’ food restaurant and wine bar.

Tourist information Traben-Trarbach

For more information abut what to do, where to enjoy the local wines and cuisine and where to stay in beautiful Traben-Trarbach, contact the local tourist information centre. It’s located just opposite the lovely historic train station in Traben, so you can also visit for advice once you’re there.

 A visit to Weingut Immich Batterieberg

Weingut Immich Batterieberg is located in the village of Enkirch, in between Traben-Trarbach and Reil an der Mosel. It is one of the oldest wine estates in Germany’s Mosel wine region - in fact parts of an old wall and tower at the centre of the estate actually date back to 908 and in the wine cellar (which you can visit) there is a pillar dating from Roman times. 

The house was originally owned by the church but was sold to the Esch family in the 12th century.  The Immich family features among the oldest winemaking families on the Mosel, with a history that spans from 1425 through to 1989.

Immich Batterieberg vineyards

Immich Batterieberg farms 19 hectares in four top single vineyard sites between Enkirch and Traben-Trarbach and in Enkirch itself: Steffensberg, Ellergrub, Zeppwingert and the famous ‘Batterieberg’ - created in 1841 by Carl August Immich and named after the explosives that were used to excavate the roads and terraces!

The vineyards are all on very steep slate slopes and rank as some of the best vineyards in the Mosel. Looking after these vineyards is hugely labour-intensive. A high proportion of the vines are old, ungrafted vines with naturally low yields, which produce superb, site-typical Mosel Rieslings. 

Immich Batterieberg wines

Weingut Immich Batterieberg, under the direction of Gernot Kollmann, assisted by Markus Montano Lopez, has been operating organic processes since 2009 and today is known for its focus on single vineyard and grand cru sites and wines. 

These wines are classic Mosel Riesling style, relatively low alcohol and they fully express their terroir. The wines aren’t manipulated in any way in the course of their production and Nature is left to determine each vintage.The annual production is approximately 80,000 bottles.

Visiting Immich Batterieberg

We enjoyed meeting Markus Montano Lopez who told us all about the fascinating history of the wine estate, showed us around the wine cellar and conducted an excellent wine tasting with us.

These are seriously great wines and are available around the world through specialist stockists. In the UK they are available from Penzer Wines.

Contact to arrange an appointment before visiting.

Arriving at Reil an der Mosel

Just a bit further along the Mosel from Enkirch you arrive at the wine village of Reil an der Mosel - a lovely town with 1000 years of wine culture and today a popular wine and leisure resort in the beautiful Mosel wine region. 

Reil is a great location for wine of course, but also for enjoying outdoor leisure activities, including hiking, cycling and river sports. 

Reil is the official border between the Mittelmosel and the steeper vineyards of the Lower Mosel - or ‘Terrassen Mosel’ - and this is really evident as you look along the Mosel at Reil and up at the wonderfully dramatic, steep vine-covered slopes. Here you start to see just how hard growing vines is in the Mosel!

Hotels in Reil

See here for a list of accommodation options in Reil. We can personally recommend:

• Hotel Reiler Hof - Located on the river Mosel, beautifully appointed rooms, recently renovated and a small spa added for guest use

Restaurants in Reil

Reil is known for its gastronomy! See here for some options. We can personally recommend:

• Heim’s Restaurant in the Hotel Reiler Hof, serving freshly cooked dishes prepared with the finest, seasonal ingredients; 

• Cafe Balle - Lovely spot right at the River Mosel in Reil, serving a French inspired menu sourced with local ingredients. 

 Weingut Melsheimer

We were drawn to visit Weingut Melsheimer in Reil, to discover more about the wines, yes, but also to understand how they managed to achieve organic and biodynamic certification in such a challenging vine-growing region as this, with vines growing on impossibly steep and inaccessible slopes. 

5th generation owner and winemaker Thorsten Melsheimer is a pioneer in Germany’s Mosel wine region, for organic and biodynamic winemaking. The winery has been certified organic since 1997 (Ecovin certified) and certified biodynamic since 2013 (Demeter certified).

Melsheimer vineyards

In total Thorsten Melseimer farms 12 hectares of vineyards, producing approximately 55,000 bottles of wine per year.

Thorsten is known particularly for his ‘nursing back to life’ of old vines, especially in top Reil vineyard site, Reiler Mullay-Hofberg, where he has lovingly rebuilt walls in the remotest, steepest, least accessible locations. Thorsten is responsible for reviving and restoring this historic and exceptionally steep Mosel vineyard, which dates back to at least 1143, from when the first records exist about it. 

The Reiler Mullay-Hofberg is a very unforgiving, steep slope - said to be the most impressive steep slope in the lower Middle Moselle, stretching to  almost a kilometre - with a mixture of grey and reddish slate.  

Melsheimer cultivates additional vineyard plots including ‘Goldlay’, another moderately steep slope (50 - 70% gradient), opposite the town of Reil on the Hunsrück side of the Mosel and small plots in the Pündericher Marienburg, the Burger Hahnentrittchen and Thomasberg as well as the Reiler Falklay. 

Melsheimer values

Producing a wine that is as good and as natural and expressive as it can be, is of course key, but core to Thorsten Melsheimer’s values is to achieve diversity and sustainability through biodynamic farming and winemaking practices. Thorsten is passionate about ensuring the soils and the environment are healthier to pass on to the next generation and about achieving harmony between people and nature. A very tangible demonstration of his efforts to achieve this is the presence of a number of beautiful goats in the side valley of the Mullay-Hofberg vineyard, which help to increase biodiversity and manage the growth and spread of bush undergrowth.   

Melsheimer Riesling

Meslheimer grows almost exclusively Riesling and it has always been that way, simply because the soils and the terroir here perfectly suit the Riesling grape variety.

Melsheimer wines have all of the clean, expressive, slatey minerality typical of Mosel Rieslings and are considered to be exceptional, competing with the Mosel’s finest Rieslings. 

A third of Melsheimer wine production is made up of sparkling German wine, or Sekt . We loved these sparkling Riesling wines, including the ‘Brut Nature’, the ‘Zéro dosage’ and the ‘Pét Nat’ wines - a natural wine, with no additives or sulphur and only 11% alcohol. Melseimer also produces a 'Cuvée Prestige', a blend similar to a Champagne blend, but made with Riesling rather than Chardonnay grapes. See all Melsheimer wines here.

These excellent wines are available around the world through specialist stockists. In the UK they are available from Newcomer Wines.

Melsheimer accommodation

To help visitors enjoy and appreciate this unique location and Mosel wine region more fully, Melsheimer offers a range of guest accommodation in Reil, close to the Melsheimer cellars.

Visit Weingut Melseimer

Visiting Weingut Thorsten Melsheimer is a great opportunity to experience traditional, authentic, sustainable and passionate Mosel winemaking at the highest level. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Thorsten learning all about his wines and experiencing first hand his all consuming passion for producing exceptional  wines from this exceptional wine region, using the most environmentally-friendly and sustainable processes to do this.

Contact Melsheimer to arrange a visit.

Other wineries to visit in this section of the Middle Mosel

We would highly recommend visiting this lower section of the Middle Mosel from Traben-Trarbach to Reil and visiting both Weingut Immich Batterieberg and Weingut Melsheimer - both trailblazers for exceptional wines and commitment to organic and biodynamic farming and winemaking.

Two other wineries we hold in high regard include:

• Weingut Rita & Rudi Trossen, Kinheim

• Weingut Clemens Busch, Pünderich

Conclusion and personal highlights

We love the Mosel wine region - around every twist and turn in this beautiful river lies more spectacular scenery and the wines are simply stunning! We also love the fact that it’s totally unspoiled here and the people can’t be more welcoming. Contact us to help you plan your Mosel wine tour!!

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