Rhine: winegrower's tour

From winery to winery

Nahe, Rheinhessen, Rheingau, Mittelrhein.

Look forward to this unique round trip and enjoy two overnight stays at winerys, three wine-tastings and varied bike trails through four wine-growing areas in the heart of Germany. Starting in Rüdesheim you ride through the Nahe - valley. Enjoy the marvelous wine - landscape that impresses with vineyards, while you are cycling on the well-built bike trails. Get excited about the wine area Rheinhessen with its great german Riesling. You will have a wonderful day with boat and bike at the romantic middle rhine(UNESCO world cultural heritage). The well-known wineyards of Kaub, Bacharach and the Loreley rock will astonish you. All in all this biketour is a travel full of scenic and culinary surprises.
Every day you receive an extra – hint about wine. Sometimes we recommend a special vinotheque, a winery with wine serving, an interesting museum or a special evening event.
In this hilly landscape you cycle through vineyards, partly on separate bike trails, typical asphalted tracks that are only released for utility vehicles, cyclists and hikers.

1. day Rüdesheim Arrival

Arrive early, because Rüdesheim has much to offer. Take a varied ride on the cable car to the "Niederwalddenkmal" with stunning views over the vineyards of the Rheingau. If you have time enough walk down from the monument to the town center. Stroll through the famous Drosselgasse and visit the wine shop "RheinWeinWelt" which is unique in Germany. Here you can taste the wines of more than 70 winegrowers in a historic listed building.  In the evening enjoy the fantastic restaurants. Your hotel is located in the center of the town. Arrival by train or car is possible.

2. day Through the wine-growing area to Bad Kreuznach 51 km

Take a ferry across the Rhine and you are in Bingen and at the mouth of the Nahe in the Rhine. On the flat Nahe cycle path you cycle to Bad Kreuznach. Marvel at the sprawling spa park with its graduation towers, healing springs and water wheels, which together make up Europe's largest outdoor inhalatory. Bad Münster is quickly reached on Stein-Ebernburg, romantically embedded between spectacular rock formations. On the Nahe Cycle Path in Rotenfels, discover the largest steep face between the Alps and Scandinavia. Now that the vineyards are close to the bike path, you should take a tasting break at Schlossböckelheim near the winegrower before cycling back to Bad Kreuznach on small roads.

3. day To the winegrowing area Rheinhessen to Flonheim 47 - 55 km

You cycle comfortably through the beautiful spa park of Bad Kreuznach, before you turn into the Alsenztal. Here, in the morning, a nice bike path awaits you, but also some heights that you have to climb to change over to the Appelbachtal. But you will be rewarded. A beautiful bike path then leads through the narrow valley into the wine region Rheinhessen. The wide vineyards are now in the field of vision. Via Neu-Bamberg with its medieval atmosphere and Wöllstein you cycle through typical wine villages and through the vineyards to Flonheim. Look forward to this small wine village. In the evening you will get to know the wines of Rheinhessen at an interesting wine tasting.

4. day Rheinhessen: Flonheim - Nierstein 47 km

In the morning we head up to the surrounding vineyards with a fantastic panorama view. Enjoy cycling to Alzey, where a tour of the old town lures. Admire the historic city wall, the castle and the old town hall at the fish market, before you continue your bike ride through the hilly wine-growing region of Rheinhessen. Small wine villages like Gau-Odernheim, Hillesheim and Wintersheim are idyllically located along the way. In the afternoon you cycle over the beautiful Rheinterrassen cycle path to Oppenheim to the German wine museum. Afterwards it is not far to Nierstein. With almost 1,000 hectares of vineyards, Nierstein is the largest wine-growing area on the Rhine and your home for today. In the evening you can look forward to a wine tasting directly with the winegrower.

5. day From Rheinhessen to the Rheingau to Eltville 42 km

In the morning you cycle the first flat kilometers to the old town of Mainz. Marvel at the Romanesque Cathedral, the Electoral Palace and the Gutenberg Museum, all outstanding sights of this lovely city. And: Mainz is considered the wine capital due to the numerous wine bars and modern wine shops. After a rewarding break, you will enjoy cycling along the Rhine Cycle Route towards the Rheingau. Winding paths through the vines lead you to the wine, sparkling wine and rose town of Eltville. Here you cycle over the Rhine promenade to the castle Reinhartshausen.

6. day Through the Rheingau to Rüdesheim 28 - 40 km

Today is the highlight of your cycling trip. Through the famous vineyards of the Rheingau you cycle from one highlight to the next. Look forward to Kiedrich with its historic center and the venerable St. Valentinuskirche. Take a break in the former Cistercian abbey Kloster Eberbach, which is worth a visit. Through the vineyards you cycle to the Riesling-Weingut Schloss Vollrads, one of the oldest wineries in Germany. Visit the wine shop in the coach house, which offers its own wines to try. Back in the saddle, the next highlight is quickly reached. Enjoy Schloss Johannisberg's sun terrace, wonderful wines and a fantastic view of the vineyards. For those who still have enough energy after 28 km, we recommend a special extra bike tour from Rüdesheim. On panoramic trails you cycle with magnificent views through the vineyards to Assmannshausen and from there back to Rüdesheim on the newly opened in 2019 bike path directly along the banks of the Rhine.

7. day Excursion through the winegrowing area middle Rhein 32 km

A trip through the wine growing region of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley attracts with new experiences. Enjoy in the morning a romantic cruise on the Rhine from Rüdesheim to Loreley. Marvel at the sundeck from this unique cultural landscape (UNESCO World Heritage). From St. Goar you then cycle on the well-developed Rhine Cycle Route at the foot of the steep vineyards through the heart of the wine-growing region of the Middle Rhine. Literally in every village there is an alley with ostrich farms, wine bars or caterers. In Oberwesel marvel at the almost completely preserved city wall and stroll through historic streets with colorful half-timbered houses in Bacharach. On the Rhine Cycle Route, you will cycle back to Rüdesheim, surrounded by the magnificent scenery of the steep slopes, where a small wine tasting awaits you at the end of your bike tour.

8. day Rüdesheim Departure

After breakfast this scenic surprisingly varied wine journey through four wine-growing regions ends in Rüdesheim.

Worth knowing

Below you will find specific information about the Rhine Winery tour. If you have further questions about this trip, you simply call us: Phone: 06421 – 886890.

Arrival by train

Rüdesheim is easily accessible from all major cities in Germany by train. Current schedule information and price information can be found at: www.bahn.de.
Train schedule information

Parking facilities at the hotel in Rüdesheim

You may leave your car near the hotel on a public carpark for 10 euros per day. As an alternative you have the possibility to leave the car without costs in a residencial area of Rüdesheim. You will find detailled information on the parking possibilities in your travel information we will provide 2 weeks prior to your arrival.

Condition of cycle paths

On this altogether hilly tour you cycle on the one hand on the Rhine cycle path and the Nahe cycle path, otherwise often in the middle of the vineyards partly on separate cycle paths, partly also on the typical small asphalt roads and farm roads, which are only for the Winzerfahrzeuge (and cyclists) released are. In the vineyards are two short bumpy sliding distances as well as individual non-asphalted passages. It is not always the comfort of a flat, paved bike path given, but then you are really in the middle of the vine on the way, usually paired with beautiful views!

Available rental bikes

If you choose to rent a velocipede-rental bike for the tour, we take it to your first hotel and bring pick it up at your destination. You can choose between woman’s and men's bicycles either with 7-speed gear shift and coaster brake or 27-speed gear shift and freewheel or electric bikes. All ladies' bikes have a low opening that makes mounting and dismounting much easier. The bikes are suitable for all ladies from 150 cm in height and for all gentlemen from 165 cm in height. On our Velociped tours we use high-quality e-bikes of the Velo de Ville brand. They are technically mature and very robust. You simply specify your wishes at time of booking.
Velociped rental bikes

Extra costs which are not included in the price

A possibly applicable city tax is not part of the travel price and therefore has to be paid at the hotel locally.
The ferry boat from Ruedesheim to Bingen (2 x) is not included in the tour price.

7 day hotline service

Just in case the bike chain breaks, flooding makes it impossible to continue your tour or any other nasty surprise: You can reach us seven days a week and we will do anything to help you as fast as possible. 

Passport and visa requirements, health regulations

For EU citizens, there are no special passport or visa requirements and no health formalities to be considered for this trip.

Corona travel information:
Before booking your trip, please inform yourself about the measures in place to contain the Corona pandemic.

Information on current decisions of the German Federal Government can be found here:
https://www.bundesregierung.de/corona-these-rules-and-restrictions-apply

Current information on entry requirements to Germany can be found here:
https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/coronavirus

You can also find more information on our website at:
Corona virus and holiday planning

Travel insurance

The tour price already includes the statutory insolvency insurance. In addition, we recommend that you take out travel cancellation insurance upon receipt of your travel confirmation in order to protect yourself against financial disadvantages in the event of travel cancellation, interruption of travel, illness or accident.

Wine region Middle Rhine

The wine region Mittelrhein extends over more than 100 kilometers from Bingen to the gates of Bonn. The narrow Rhine valley, which is structured by countless rugged rocky ridges, offers an impressive landscape - not least due to the labor-intensive viticulture. The southern part of this unique cultural landscape, the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2002. It is the heart of the growing area, with castles on the slopes and medieval-looking villages along the river. Winemakers operate the vintagers almost exclusively on terraced steep slopes. Due to the difficult processing conditions, the acreage decreased to 469 hectares. The Siebengebirge and the Loreley divide the area into two winegrowing areas. The winemakers favor the classic grape varieties. Especially the Riesling finds here ideal growth conditions. It presents itself minerally, with fine smell and racy acidity. With 70 percent of its acreage, it is the number one white wine grape in the Middle Rhine. In addition, flourish Müller-Thurgau, Kerner and Burgundy. The most important red grape variety is Pinot Noir.
Mittelrhein-Wein

Wine region Rheinhessen

Rheinhessen, also known as the "land of a thousand hills", is considered the sunniest and largest wine-growing region in Germany. The vineyard area between Alzey, Worms, Mainz and Bingen covers 26,617 hectares. Rheinhessen stands for fruity, sparkling white wines. 70 percent of the vineyard is planted with white wine varieties. In terms of white varieties, the Müller-Thurgau vine is in the lead in terms of quantity. In second place is the undisputed queen among the vines, the Riesling. In third place follows the Silvaner, which can be found today as a regional specialty on many wine lists. Rheinhessen has the largest Silvaner acreage in the world. The rest is spread over a colorful variety of varieties. On the red wines account for the remaining thirty percent of Rheinhessen vineyards. Dornfelder leads the team with 13% of the total vineyard. Blue Portuguese and Pinot Noir follow and form a strong red wine assortment alongside Regent and a handful of other grape varieties.
Rheinhessen und Wein

Wine region Rheingau

The Rheingau extends from Flörsheim am Main to Lorchhausen am Rhein. The few kilometers wide strip is bounded on the north by the Taunus Causeway and in the south by the Rhine. The Rheingau is a closed wine-growing area with about 3000 hectares of vineyards. 84% of the vineyards are planted with Riesling and 11% with blue Pinot Noir. Around 280 full-time winemakers and a stately number of renowned wineries bring their own wines to the bottle. The earliest preserved traces of viticulture date back to Roman times. A few centuries later, viticulture was mainly operated by monasteries such as Kloster Eberbach and Schloss Johannisberg. Under their guidance were cleared from this time on southern slopes of the Taunus and planted with vines and laid the foundation for the steady rise of today's Rheingau. The Rheingau owes its world-wide reputation to an amiable nature. Only here has the Rhine for a short time changed its main direction in east-west on its thousand-kilometer route to avoid the Rheingau Mountains. This gives the slopes the necessary solar warmth in full southern exposure. In addition there are the reflecting water surface of the stream, partly the heat storage in the rock, the humidity also in the summer months and the geological-mineral nature of the soil, which offer the Riesling vine the best vegetation possibilities. In no other wine-growing region in the world is the proportion of Riesling, the queen among the vines, as high as here.
Rheingau

Wine region Nahe

The wine-growing area Nahe, which has only been run as an independent winegrowing area since 1971, stretches from the mouth of the Nahe upriver to just before Kirn and into the outlying valleys of Guldenbach, Gräfenbach, Glan and Alsenz. The economic center of the wine-growing region is the spa town of Bad Kreuznach. The vineyards Riesling (share 27.3%), Müller-Thurgau (13.4%), Dornfelder (10.8%) and Silvaner (6.5%) are cultivated on around 4,063 hectares. 75% produce white wine and 25% red wine. Especially the Riesling produces here very mineral, elegant wines. The wine-growing area Nahe has the largest soil diversity and the most extensive changes in Germany. More than 180 soil variants are suspected and currently under investigation in a project. Due to this geological diversity, it occupies a special position: quartz and slate soils are found at the bottom, porphyry, melaphyre and red sandstone at the middle Nahe. Around Bad Kreuznach there are weathered floors and clay overlays of sandstone, loess and clay. The vineyards are mostly in flat and hilly locations. Only a small part, mainly in the area around Bad Münster am Stein, are steep slopes.
Weinland Nahe

Deutsches Weinbaumuseum Oppenheim

The museum represents the viticulture of all vineyards and is the largest technical museum of viticulture. Special exhibitions highlight individual locations from all German wine regions. To this day, it is the only 'technical wine-growing museum' that, from the vintner's perspective, tells the story of growing the vine to bottling. The wine-growing museum covers an area of ​​5000 m², distributed over three storeys in a beautiful late Baroque building, a neighboring house and two large outdoor areas.
Deutsches Weinbaumuseum

Weingut Kloster Eberbach

The winery of the 1136 founded by St. Bernard of Clairvaux (Burgundy) Monastery Eberbach has written with tireless striving for quality wine history and was already many centuries ago the largest German winery. This history was after the secularization in 1803 by the Duke of Nassau, from 1866 as the Royal Domaine of the Prussian State and since 1945 by the State of Hesse, as a shareholder of the winery, updated. The former press house now houses the wine shop with its diverse wine and Klosterwarenangebot. The focus of the top-class wine and sparkling wine assortment of the Hessian State Wine Estates lies on Riesling from the most valuable vineyards of the Rheingau and the Hessian mountain road. In addition, the Pinot Noir from the Höllenberg take a special place. The unusual interior design and the successful renovation of the listed building create a unique atmosphere.
Kloster Eberbach

RheinWeinWelt Rüdesheim

In Rüdesheim, where brandy brand Asbach was once produced, in 2017 a vinotheque of a special kind was created. Here you can taste 160 wines from three German growing regions. On about 1,500 square meters 76 winemakers present their wines. The connecting element is the Rhine: over 165 kilometers of Rhine are distributed the wineries, which are with the party. In the landmarked building, there are eight walk-in concrete storage tanks of the former brandy production. There was previously stored the Asbach raw brand, now here are the tasting stations of the wineries. Information boards give details about the respective wines. The wines are in specially made for the RheinWeinWelt refrigerators. Guests buy coins at the cash desk, which they drop into the specially designed tasting facilities in front of the refrigerators. Then you put your glass under a tap, and 0.03 liters of wine of your choice flow into it for tasting. If you have tasted the right wine, you can also buy the bottle on the spot. Admission to the Rhine wine world is free.
Rheinweinwelt