1. Neustadt an der Weinstraße
Start your hike at the “gate to the nine wine villages” in Neustadt an der Weinstraße. As the Weinstraße (“wine road”) name suggests, viniculture and the enjoyment of wine take center stage here. Wine-related events, trade fairs, and other happenings take place in this town almost every week. We highly recommend the large Deutsche Weinlesefest (German Grape Harvest Festival) with winegrowers’ parade, which takes place every year between September and October. Leave town heading north on the Pfälzer Weinsteig trail.
2. Gimmeldingen
The trail continues along the border between the Palatinate forest and the “sea of grapevines” – the Upper Rhine Plain. You’ll also pass the educational Haardt Wine Trail, where you can learn more about wine-growing by reading the info boards posted along the trail. Finally, you’ll reach the wine-growing village of Gimmeldingen, nestled among magnificent vineyards. Seven restaurants and nine wineries offer an inviting way to break for lunch. Even the Romans knew that this was a good place to live. They settled here more than 1,700 years ago. Bearing witness to this is the so-called Mithras Shrine, a stone monument with an inscription dating back to the year 325 AD.
3. Gimmeldinger Meerspinne
The hike continues through the vineyards, one with the fascinating name of Gimmeldinger Meerspinne. The name Meerspinne, which translates to Sea Spider, has nothing to do with either the sea or a spider, but rather can be traced back to the term mehrspännig – which refers to the fact that more than one draft animal would be needed to pull a wagon across the terrain. Today, you can find a large variety of wines in one small place. Because the soils are so different, the most disparate types of grape grow here right alongside one another. But it’s their optimal position facing the morning sun that helps all the grapes ripen evenly.
4. Sea of grapevines
The path from Gimmeldingen in the direction of Deidesheim, via the village of Königsbach, does, however, lead you through a sea of grapevines. The Pfälzer Weinsteig trail meanders along the edge of the forest and winegrowers’ work roads through the region’s various vineyard locations. The hike reveals the sheer size of the wine landscape – the higher you climb the hillsides, the more you can see of the Rhine Plain below.
5. Deidesheim
Nestled in this sea of grapevines, the trail leads you our destination, Deidesheim – a place where wine has been grown since at least the year 770 AD. The number of wineries and festivals here is correspondingly large. Your thirst for knowledge can be slaked here, too – by visiting the Museum für Weinkultur (Museum of Wine Culture), for example. If you’re here in August, don’t miss the Deidesheim Weinkerwe – a wine festival full of music, tradition, and enjoyment.
