Biking On The Mosel River

Sometimes when I write for my blog, it takes several hours, but today, writing about the Mosel River, it just flows.

You see, last weekend, I went for a lengthy biking excursion with friends.  Ok, they weren’t real friends, just fishermen who chased me when I grabbed their poles.  My legs got a workout.  Only kidding.  I really do have friends.  They really do bike.  I borrowed my wife’s bike, which is single speed, with big tall handlebars right out of Easy Rider, decorated with fine spots of artistic rust.  I wore jeans, tennis shoes and a baseball cap.  Yes, I flaunted the fashionistas who decked themselves out in two thousand dollar touring bikes, custom filled helmets, Spandex biking clothes by Yves Laurent, riding gloves and specialty riding shoes for which several sheep gave their lives.  But, did I mind the angry stares that screamed, “For God’s Sake man, can’t you at least wear designer jeans?”  Nope. I go for Wranglers that have been twice dyed indigo blue.  My ball cap is a custom creation of previously sweaty afternoons and the crush gained through years of careless use.  I strive for originality.  Some would call it grunge.  I pay no attention and make them buy their own wine.

But, enough about me and my keen sense of fashion. Let’s chat a moment about one of the most glorious rivers in the world and definitely the finest region for Riesling wine.  If the wine merchants on the Rhine River disagree, ignore them.

At The Beginning:  The Mosel’s source is about 2400 feet (715 meters) high in the Vosges Mountains of France.  Bet you thought the Mosel was strictly a German river.  Mais, non, mes amie!  Matter of fact, only 142 miles (208 Kilometers) of it’s 334 mile (544 Kilometer) length is in Germany. Another 24 miles (39 Kilometers) is a shared border between France and Germany.  It flows into the Rhine at Koblentz.  Luxembourg also gets a little share.

So, where does the Mosel River (Moselle in French) rank among the largest rivers in Germany?  So glad you asked. Goes like this: Danube, Rhine, Elbe, Oder, Mosel.  But most lists include the full length of the rivers, not just the German portions.

Ok, let’s chat for a moment about wines. Forget which German region produces the most, or most famous, or any other superfluous balderdash. Those just don’t matter and for my taste, the Mosel ranks numéro un, or Nummer Eins.  I love the soft flavors that are often attributed to the shale in the soil.  Ride your bike along the river and you’ll see stacks of slate, and if you look closer at the vines, it looks as if they are planted in gray gravel.

Most of the vines that run up and down the steep hills and over the flat lands produce Riesling grapes and overall, the valley is planted with 90% white grapes, of which 61% are Riesling.

Feel like tasting?  Seems like every five feet there’s another vintner offering Wein Probes, wine tasting.  Maybe every five feet is a bit of hyperbole, but I swear you’ll find ten or more vintners in even the small villages that line the route.  Some offer free tasting and others want a very small payment.  Yes, there are sparkling wines as well as a few reds.  Most wines price out at $4 to $7 per bottle, for some of the best white wines in the world.

And guess who first planted grapes in this region?  The Romans, of course.  As you drive or ride along the river, you’ll see signs that point to a Roman villa here or there, or ruins, or other artifacts.

But, most of all, taking a bike trip for a couple of hours through the lazy, beautiful curves of the Mosel is a treat that soothes your senses.  Admire the steep slopes, gaze across the green valley almost totally dedicated to wine.  Why deprive yourself? No need to make this painful.  After biking a mile or two, stop for luscious wine or a spot of lunch.  Oh, yeah, punish me. And at none of the places you’ll stop will you find a dress code.  Pick a Roman god to thank for that.