12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
German Wine and Travel, September 15, 2001
This review is from: Touring In Wine Country: Mosel & Rheing (Paperback)
The Mosel & Rheingau including the Ahr, Nahe,and Pfalz
Stuart Pigott
1997
I was first introduced to German wine as a soldier in Germany some years ago. I have enjoyed it ever since. There are two things in this book about German wine that make it extraordinary, the maps and the photographs.
Detailed maps show the location of the vineyards in relationship to the wine-producing towns. So when one buys a bottle of German wine in the United States, he or she can read the label, for example, on a bottle of Muellheimer Sonnenlay and locate the Sonnenlay vineyard near the town of Muellheim on the appropriate map.
The photographs in this book are beautiful. One example would be the picture of the market place in Trier, the so-called oldest town in Germany. There are also photos of the rivers, the towns, and the vineyards.
I have visited some of the wine-producing towns on the Mosel and some on the Mittelrhein and sampled wines. For me, these are some of the best wines in Germany. On the Mosel, from personal experience, the towns of Zell, Bernkastel-Kues, and Piesport offer outstanding wines, and they are worth a visit. On the Rhine, my favorite wine town is Bacharach, which produces some equally good wine. The coverage of these towns in the book is, in my opinion, very good.
In his book, Stuart Pigott also clarifies the "Praedikat" system, used for classifying wine types, such as "Spaetlese" und "Auslese", according to the level of grape sugar in them. He also lists the names of some of the wine estates for each area with a comment on them, as well as the phone number, for those who wish to visit. Pigott also reluctantly points out a few German wines that are not what they are supposed to be. An example is Piesporter Michelsberg, most of which is not even from a Piesport vineyard. I have seen this in good wine sections in stores in the United States next to the authentic and fine Piesporter Goldtroepchen.
Even if the reader is not particularly interested in wine, the book provides a good deal of information about the towns along the Mosel and Rhine rivers, and it can be used to help plan trips. As mentioned, there are photos of many of the towns with a description of the high points, along with some recommended hotels and restaurants.
On the whole, from my own experience traveling in Germany and tasting numerous wines, I think this is an excellent book for understanding German wines and equally good for planning trips to some of the most interesting towns in some of the most beautiful river valleys in Germany.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good guide book, and not just for wine, January 14, 2002
This review is from: Touring In Wine Country: Mosel & Rheing (Paperback)
Another reviewer accurately described this book as an excellent guide for wine enthusiasts. It's certainly that, but I'd be tempted to recommend this book even if you're so-so about wine.
That's because this travel book is straightforward and honest in its opinions; it says that the view from a restaurant is excellent but the food is only so-so, or just stick to their fish entrees. As a result, when the book does gush you know that it's sincerely meant, not an unrelenting PR spin about the expected tourist stops.
The book isn't perfect, however. One thing it lacks (as do most other Germany guide books) is any sense of distance between places; an occasional "only a 20-minute drive away" would have helped immeasurably.
We all have a limited amount of time available on our vacations; this book helped us use that time wisely.
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