Mainz, Germany

Attention lovers of white wines: get ready for the tasting tour of your life!  Two thirds of this awesome span of vineyards is planted with Riesling, Silvaner, Müller, Thurgau, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.  However, you shouldn't neglect to taste the product of the remaining third of the area vineyards.  Red-wine grapes including Dornfelder, Spätburgunder and Portugieser, with a bit of St. Laurent, Regent, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon produce some very noteworthy wines.

As you make your way through Mainz by rental car keep your eye out for Winzersekt.  This is Winegrower's Sparkling Wine, usually sold at vineyards and made with the wine they produce.  It is an invention of the 1980's, but produced by the classic method of champagne bubbles with fermentation in the bottle.

Mainz Germany holds a wine growing tradition with a history spanning over 2,000 years.  The vineyards here cover an area of 26,500 ha, called Wineland Rheinhessen it is Germany's largest wine-growing region.  

You can drive to Mainz easily with a car hire from your choice of three airports in Germany; Frankfurt International Airport, Cologne/Bonne Airport, or the low cost hub Frankfurt-Hahn Airport.  Mainz also has several train stations, with the InterCity trains stopping in the Mainz Hauptbahnof station and regional and commuter trains stopping at Mainz Römisches Theater.  Reserve a car hire at a Mainz train station for your wine tour.