A one day tour from Frankfurt featuring 2 icons of Rheingau Riesling

We often get asked to help plan an itinerary for a one day tour into a wine region from a major city. If you’re visiting a major city or travel hub and just have a short amount of time to spare to visit a nearby wine region, a one day itinerary is very appealing. 

A good example and one we are often contacted about, is a one day trip into Germany’s Rheingau wine region from Frankfurt - a popular city for business trips and also a central German and European hub.  Planning a day trip into a wine region you haven’t visited before isn’t easy and can be overwhelming if you wish to pack in winery visits, wine tastings, cultural experiences and a lunch/dinner featuring excellent traditional food - so this is where we come in!

We recently planned a one day itinerary for a couple who were staying in Frankfurt and who wished to experience the best of the Rheingau - one of the top wine regions in Germany, especially known for its superb Rheingau Riesling wines. Here’s what we planned for them!

One day tour itinerary - Rheingau wine region

Our couple had already decided to hire a car and were planning to drive themselves into Rheingau from Frankfurt. The journey time is roughly 1 hour by car.  You could also do this tour easily from other local cities, Mainz and Wiesbaden.

Equally we could have arranged transportation and a driver, which is often more preferable so the driver can enjoy the wine tastings!

We agreed that we would arrange 2 winery visits, one in the morning and one in the afternoon - both to be top ‘VDP’ classified (see below) and known to be producers of some of the finest and best German wine.

Our couple were keen to experience some local Rheingau culture and history and fortunately there is no shortage of that, so we proposed a lunch venue that not only satisfied the requirement for good local, traditional food, it ticked the culture box too!

We then proposed rounding off the day with a superb, fine dining venue that is well known in the region.

VDP German wine classification

A note here to define ‘VDP’ classification. 

VDP stands for ‘Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter’ and is a private association of some 200 top German wine producers, dating back to 1910, whose aim is to highlight the value and origin of the best vineyard sites in Germany, to strengthen the profile of Germany’s best dry wines and to emphasise Premium Quality Wines.

A winery cannot just apply for membership, you have to be invited to apply and each member winery must adhere to strict rules and requirements to achieve and retain membership. The famous VDP ‘eagle’ badge on a bottle signifies a top German wine, but arguably one of the world’s most expressive and authentic wines.

In summary and in ascending order of quality, the VDP vineyard classifications include:

• VDP.Gutswein - wines come from the estate's own vineyards and meet the strict VDP standards

• VDP.Ortswein - wines come from the best vineyards within a town and are planted with typical grape varieties 

• VDP.Erste Lage - wines from first-class vineyards planted with regionally defined grape varieties, produced over a long period of time with sustainably high quality 

• VDP.Grosse Lage - wines from the highest quality German vineyards. The locations are split into parcels that produce the best wines expressing terroir and with special ageing potential. (The dry wines are  called VDP. Grosses Gewächs - commonly called GG) 

The VDP association has arguably done most to protect and advance the reputation of German wine both at home and abroad. Learn more about  ‘VDP’ German wine classification.

Winery visit 1 - Weingut Robert Weil 

Weingut Robert Weil is located in the beautiful village of Kiedrich in the Rheingau wine region and has a reputation for producing some of the best German wines.

The 90 hectares of 100% Riesling vineyards of the Robert Weil winery, located at high altitudes in the foothills of the Taunus mountains, are among the best in the Rheingau wine region. The vines, planted at a density of 5,000 to 6,000 vines per hectare, are sometimes more than 50 years old.

The estate was founded back in 1867 by Dr. Robert Weil and since its establishment Robert Weil Riesling wines have graced the tables of nobility, aristocracy and the wider population across Germany and the world. Today, under the leadership of great-grandson Wilhelm Weil, the reputation of Robert Weil wines has continued to flourish. 

The distinctive ‘Tiffany blue’ labels and VDP classified wines are known throughout the world and Weingut Robert Weil is particularly known for its top ‘Grosse Lage’ (Grand Cru) Rieslings - made from grapes from the premier hillside vineyard in Kiedrich, Gräfenberg.

Weingut Robert Weil is open daily for wine tastings in the fabulous tasting room. Our couple enjoyed a guided tasting of a minimum of 5 Robert Weil wines, including 2 Grand Cru wines.

 Lunch at world-famous Weingut Kloster Eberbach

Rheingau is the spiritual heart of German wine, rich in history and tradition and the birthplace of Germany’s most famous grape, German Riesling. It’s also a very popular wine tourist region, where centuries of history and tradition are reflected in a wine landscape littered with impressive monasteries and castles.

Kloster Eberbach is regarded as one of the best preserved mediaeval monasteries in Europe, as well as the emblem of German wine history. With beginnings dating back to the early 12th century and wine being produced here by the Cistercian monks from the 13th century, Kloster Eberbach has played a key role in Germany’s long wine history. 

Located just 15 minutes away from Weingut Robert Weil in the village of Eltville, Kloster Eberbach presents the perfect lunch spot, where you can enjoy an excellent lunch in the restaurant, Klosterschänke Kloster Eberbach. You can sit on the garden patio overlooking the basilica, or enjoy the beautiful vaulted walls in the historic restaurant in cooler weather - either way you can enjoy some wonderful regional specialities and home-cooked food. We have enjoyed a lovely lunch here before and would highly recommend it.

For more information about visiting Kloster Eberbach and Rheingau's other iconic monasteries, see here.

Visit and wine tasting at Weingut Künstler

Leaving Kloster Eberbach and Eltville behind it takes under 30 minutes to travel east along the River Rhine to the lovely Rheingau wine village of Hochheim am Main and Weingut Künstler, another top German VDP wine estate.

Weingut Künstler Hochheim enjoys an excellent reputation for its wines especially Rheingau Riesling and Pinot Noir but also Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Grüner Veltliner and Alvarinho wines. Almost 80% of the 50 hectares of vineyards are represented by Riesling vines, but if you enjoy Pinot Noir, this is a good winery to visit to sample some excellent German ‘Spätburgunder’.

The Hochheim estate was founded in 1965 by Franz Künstler and today, similar to Weingut Robert Weil, Weingut Künstler is known for its VDP Grosse Lage - or Grand Cru - vineyards, of which it has 8 in total, including the 2 largest sites, Hölle and Reichestal. 

Today the estate is managed by Monika and Gunter Künstler, who follow more than 370 years of family winemaking tradition to produce what is regarded as some of the best Rheingau wines. 

In fact Gunter Künstler was presented with an award at the 2024 annual VDP wine tasting event in Mainz for 'wine collection of the year' (see photo below).

You can enjoy a tour of the winery and a wine tasting in Weingut Künstler’s vinothek all year round, including white, red and sparkling wines.

 Dinner at Chez les Deux Dienstbach

Following a tour and tasting at Weingut Künstler we recommend enjoying dinner in the onsite restaurant, called Chez Les Deux Dienstbach - run and managed by 2 sisters from nearby Wiesbaden, who founded this fabulous restaurant and whose French roots define the cuisine. 

The restaurant offers fine dining with a French twist, using local fresh ingredients, proposing a set menu comprising three to six courses made with select ingredients. Diners choose from a selection of wines from both France and Weingut Künstler. Chez les Deux Dienstbach offers an incredible and most enjoyable dining experience in a beautiful and historic setting. 

Conclusion

There is so much to experience and enjoy in Germany’s Rheingau and hopefully this one day itinerary proves that you can achieve so much in just one day! Our customers had the best day and here’s what they had to say:
”Thank you for making amazing experiences come true!”

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