DWI Awards 14 New Landmarks of Wine Culture

The German Wine Institute (DWI) recently awarded the “Landmarks of Wine Culture” distinction to 14 new destinations across almost all of Germany’s 13 winegrowing regions. These landmarks are honored for documenting the history and tradition of wine growing in an impressive way. 

This is the third time that the DWI has presented these awards, first in 2010 and again in 2013, in effort to raise public awareness of wine cultural diversity in Germany and promote domestic wine tourism.

“The newly awarded landmarks express the wine culture of the respective regions in a special way and are intended to serve as attractive destinations, especially for tourists interested in culture,” explained DWI Managing Director Monika Reule at the award ceremony in Bernkastel-Kues.

At A Glance: The 14 Landmarks

Over 50 proposals were submitted by regional wine promotion agencies across Germany’s wine regions. An independent jury of experts from the fields of tourism, history, culture and wine selected the 2022 Landmarks of Wine Culture after much deliberation. 

This year’s award-winners vary widely, representing 11 wine-growing regions and ranging from grand vineyard landscapes to monuments to wineries with an exceptional heritage of wine culture.

To learn more about each award-winning landmark, visit the individual links below and view all awarded destinations from 2010, 2013, and 2022 on the DWI’s website here.

Ahr

Red Wine Hiking Trail

The 35-kilometer-long Red Wine Hiking Trail is one of the best-known wine hiking trails in Germany, winding through the middle of the Ahr’s vineyards. The hike features spectacular views along rugged slate cliffs, steep wine terraces, and homely wine taverns, passing the oldest monastery in the Ahr valley and a bunker complex that once served as a “government bunker.”

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Red Wine Hiking Trail in the Ahr, Germany Signpost for the Red Wine Hiking Trail in the Ahr, Germany View of steep vineyards from Red Wine Hiking Trail in the Ahr, Germany Red Wine Hiking Trail in the Ahr, Germany

Baden

Kaiserstühl Loess Hollow Trails

The soil in the Kaiserstuhl area of Baden features layers of loess up to 30 meters thick dating back to the Ice Age, found almost exclusively in the area. Centuries of erosion carved the fine-grained, fertile soil into unique hollow passages. The sunken paths, which are up to 10 to 20 meters deep, have existed for a thousand years and are among the most distinctive landmarks of the wine and recreational landscape in Kaiserstuhl today. They also provide a diverse habitat protecting animals and plants species.

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Kaiserstühl Loess Hollow Trails in Baden, Germany Kaiserstühl Loess Hollow Trails in Baden, Germany Close up of soil in Kaiserstühl Loess Hollow Trails in Baden, Germany Kaiserstühl Loess Hollow Trails in Baden, Germany View along Kaiserstühl Loess Hollow Trails in Baden, Germany

Professor Blankenhorn Wine Trail of the Staatsweinguts Freiburg

The Blankenhornsberg in Ihringen, Kaiserstuhl offers a magnificent view of the Vosges and the Black Forest, commemorating Adolph Blankenhorn (1843-1906), the founder of German viticultural research. The renowned oenologist was the first president of the Baden and German Winegrowers’ Association (1874), founded Germany’s first oenological institute in Karlsruhe in 1875, published a scientific journal (“Annals of Oenology”), and became a professor through research into viticulture on his own vineyard on the Blankenhornsberg, which was acquired by his father and two brothers in 1842. Among his accomplishments, Blankenhorn played a significant role in researching the current grafting practice to combat phylloxera. In his honor, the Professor Blankenhorn Wine Trail leads through the ‘Doktorgarten’ vineyard site, with educational stations sharing interesting facts about the winery, the viticultural institute and viticulture in the Kaiserstuhl, and the grape varieties grown there.

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Information sign at Professor Blankenhorn Wine Trail of the Staatsweinguts Freiburg Vines along Professor Blankenhorn Wine Trail of the Staatsweinguts Freiburg Signpost at Professor Blankenhorn Wine Trail of the Staatsweinguts Freiburg Architecture along Professor Blankenhorn Wine Trail of the Staatsweinguts Freiburg

Franken

terroir f Rödelsee: in the name of Silvaner

Terroir f designates a total of 21 vantage points and landmarks in Franconian vineyards, each offering very different designs. Rödelsee, a village with barely 1,800 inhabitants at the foot of the Schwanberg, is known to wine lovers for its memorable “Küchenmeister” site, which features a huge walk-in cylinder high above the vineyards that looks like a telescope on stilts. Inside the structure that resembles a spaceship from afar, visitors can learn everything about the Silvaner grape variety, first cultivated in Germany more than 350 years ago in Castell. 

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Interior of the terroir f cylinder at Rödelsee View of the terroir f cylinder and vines at Rödelsee View of the terroir f cylinder at Rödelsee View of the terroir f cylinder through vines at Rödelsee

Mittelrhein

Mittelrhein Riesling Charta

18 winegrowers to-date in Mittelrhein have joined forces to form the Mittelrhein Riesling Charta (MRC) – a commitment to mutually-agreed quality guidelines. The group has defined three profile wines: Handstreich (coup de main), Felsenspiel (rock art) and Meisterstück (masterpiece), which demonstrate the high quality of Mittelrhein Rieslings in varying gradations. Each charter winegrower also contributes to a fund that preserves the region’s cultural landscape. The seven quality criteria that the Charter winegrowers have set for themselves go beyond the usual obligations that quality associations impose.

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Mittelrhein Riesling Charta wines with scenic background Mittelrhein Riesling Charta wines with scenic background Close up of Mittelrhein Riesling Charta wines Mittelrhein Riesling Charta wines with scenic background

Mosel

Cusanusstift (St.-Nikolaus-Hospital)

St. Nikolaus Hospital was founded by the cardinal and prince-bishop Nikolaus von Kues, known as Cusanus, in Bernkastel-Kues over 500 years ago. Built between 1451 and 1458, the hospital was initially intended to house 33 men from all classes. The late Gothic ambience has been preserved to this day, and the monastery was never destroyed. Today, the hospital serves as a retirement home for both men and women and also functions as a winery. Only parts of the Cusanusstift can be visited, including the medieval cloister, the Gothic chapel, and the library, home to over 300 invaluable manuscripts from the 9th-15th centuries. Wine is no longer produced in the Cusanusstift itself, but there is a vinothek in a vaulted cellar of a former farm building, where over 150 wines from the Mosel winegrowing region can be tasted.

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St. Nikolaus Hospital in Bernkastel-Kues, Mosel, Germany Inside the old Cusanusstift at St. Nikolaus Hospital in Bernkastel-Kues, Mosel, Germany Inside the old Cusanusstift at St. Nikolaus Hospital in Bernkastel-Kues, Mosel, Germany St. Nikolaus Hospital in Bernkastel-Kues, Mosel, Germany

Roman Wine Ship of Neumagen

In 1878, a large sculpture depicting a ship loaded with wine barrels was found in a prominent tomb of a Roman wine merchant from around 220 AD, reflecting the village of Neumagen-Dhron’s history of winegrowing and wine trade. The original sculpture can be admired today in the Rhineland Regional Museum in Trier, but copies exist in Neumagen-Dhron. Additionally, visitors to the village can board an exact replica of the ship, the largest floating replica of a Roman ship in Germany. Only four such burial monuments have been found, proving how old the winegrowing and wine-trading tradition is in the Mosel region.

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Roman Wine Ship of Neumagen in Mosel, Germany Details of Roman Wine Ship of Neumagen in Mosel, Germany Roman Wine Ship of Neumagen in Mosel, Germany Roman Wine Ship of Neumagen in Mosel, Germany

Winningen Vineyard Terraces

The Mosel’s most extensive terraced steep slopes are found near Winningen, not far from Koblenz. At least 29 terraces are superimposed on each other in the Koberner and Winninger Uhlen, and around 17.4 kilometers of dry stone walls were built to support them as early as the Middle Ages. With a size of about 19 hectares and a vineyard area of 14.6 hectares, the Uhlen is Germany’s largest contiguous terraced site.

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Steep slopes of Winningen Vineyard Terraces near Koblenz in Mosel, Germany Looking down steep slopes of Winningen Vineyard Terraces near Koblenz in Mosel, Germany Looking down steep slopes of Winningen Vineyard Terraces near Koblenz in Mosel, Germany View from below steep slopes of Winningen Vineyard Terraces near Koblenz in Mosel, Germany Winninger Brückstück sign at Winningen Vineyard Terraces near Koblenz in Mosel, Germany

Pfalz

Village St. Martin and Vineyard Wingertsberg

The Wingertsberg vineyard near St. Martin offers a glimpse into what a vineyard of the future might look like. The terraced site, established in 2017 on an area formerly overgrown with

bushes and shrubs, is located in the Haardtrand-Wingertsberg nature reserve. The site is managed by eight winegrowers, combining viticulture and nature conservation, with all grapes on the steep slope harvested by hand to produce high-quality wines. Above the vineyard, the charming historic town of St. Martin attracts tourists, while the vines of the Wingertsberg provide favorable biodiversity for many animal and plant species.

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Village St. Martin in Pfalz, Germany Wingertsberg Vineyard over St. Martin in Pfalz, Germany Wingertsberg Vineyard over St. Martin in Pfalz, Germany Vine impressions in Wingertsberg Vineyard near St. Martin in Pfalz, Germany

Rheingau

Queen Victoria Monument

In 1845, Queen Victoria of England visited Hochheim with her husband Prince Albert to enjoy Rheingau wine, which she famously enjoyed and referred to as “hock.” The winegrower who owned the vineyard at the time, Georg Michael Papstmann, was granted royal permission to name his vineyard “Königin-Victoriaberg.” On the Queen’s 35th birthday, her name was bestowed upon the five-hectare vineyard along with a seven-meter-high monument that still stands proudly over the vines to this day. 

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Queen Victoria Monument at Königin-Victoriaberg vineyard in Rheingau, Germany Close view of Queen Victoria Monument at Königin-Victoriaberg vineyard in Rheingau, Germany Queen Victoria Monument at Königin-Victoriaberg vineyard in Rheingau, Germany

Rheinhessen

Trulli Vineyard Huts

Rheinhessen is the land of the trullo (plural: trulli), a unique vineyard hut that looks like a cross between a cone and an igloo. These whitewashed huts are a crowning feature in the vineyards of Rheinhessen, where they were built in the 18th and 19th centuries. The oldest trullo in Rheinhessen can be found near Flonheim in Rheinhessen hill country and accessed by a hiking trail called “Hiwweltour Aulheimer Tal,” named after the gentle hills of Rheinhessen.

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Stone trullo vineyard hut in Rheinhessen, Germany White trullo vineyard hut in Rheinhessen, Germany White trullo vineyard hut in Rheinhessen, Germany White trullo vineyard hut in Rheinhessen, Germany

Saale-Unstrut

Landesweingut Kloster Pforta

Kloster Pforta is a monastery founded in 1138 by the Cistercians as the ‘Monastery of Saint Mary at the Gate’. Located between Naumburg and Bad Kösen, the site is the origin of today’s State Winery. Monks turned the landscape into vineyards, where 50 hectares are still cultivated today. The monastery’s first vineyard, the Köppelberg, was mentioned in a document as early as 1147. The Gothic church of the monastery and the Romanesque cloister can be visited to enjoy the wines of Kloster Pforta today.

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Exterior of Kloster Pforta monastery in Saale-Unstrut, Germany Exterior of Kloster Pforta monastery in Saale-Unstrut, Germany Cellar at Kloster Pforta monastery in Saale-Unstrut, Germany Interior of Kloster Pforta monastery in Saale-Unstrut, Germany Vineyard of Kloster Pforta monastery in Saale-Unstrut, Germany

Sachsen

Weingut Drei Herren: Art in the Vineyard

The Drei Herren winery in Radebeul is one of the oldest in Freistaat, with files mentioning the property in 1705. The estate now belongs to a renowned art historian who turned the property into an art and wine estate in 2002 to illustrate how wine consumption and art appreciation have similar characteristics. Since 2020, a wine and art trail has led through the steep slopes of the Hermannsberg featuring over a dozen large sculptures by various artists.

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Horse sculpture on the grounds of Drei Herren winery in Freistaat, Sachsen, Germany Sculpture among vines at Drei Herren winery in Freistaat, Sachsen, Germany Large sculpture among vines at Drei Herren winery in Freistaat, Sachsen, Germany View of sculpture through vines at Drei Herren winery in Freistaat, Sachsen, Germany Sculpture on the grounds of Drei Herren winery in Freistaat, Sachsen, Germany

Württemberg

Geigersberg: Historical Cultural Wine Landscape

Situated on a special parcel within the large Stromberg vineyard, Württemberg’s Geigersberg vineyard was abandoned until 1996, when the property was given a new lease of life through a land consolidation process. Natural dry stone walls were skillfully rebuilt and, since 2000, there have been 30 information boards erected along a two-kilometer-long circular path along orchards, wetlands, wine terraces, and forests, informing visitors about the effects of climate change and why this vineyard is so different from others.

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Geigersberg vineyard in Württemberg, Germany Stone steps at Geigersberg vineyard in Württemberg, Germany Stone wall and sign at Geigersberg vineyard in Württemberg, Germany Geigersberg vineyard in Württemberg, Germany Lizard among stones at Geigersberg vineyard in Württemberg, Germany

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