The wine-growing area is largely located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany, with a small area in North Rhine-Westphalia. The vineyards cover 470 hectares of vines, stretching from the municipality of Oberdollendorf near Königswinter, opposite Bonn, to north of Bingen, partly on both banks of the namesake middle course of the Rhine. The city of Koblenz lies at the heart of this beautiful river landscape. Winegrowing was established here by the Romans after the founding of the cities of Cologne (Colonia) and Bonn (Bonna). It flourished in the Middle Ages under the leadership of the Cistercians, who built the Heisterbach Monastery above Oberdollendorf, which is now only in ruins. The town of Bacharach is an ancient wine trading centre.
In the past, you needed a wealth of encyclopaedias and specialist literature to keep up to date in your vinophile professional life. Today, Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one of my best helpers and can rightly be called the "bible of wine knowledge".
Prof. Dr. Walter Kutscher
Lehrgangsleiter Sommelierausbildung WIFI-Wien