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The River Ahr pays its tribute to Father Rhine halfway
between Koblenz and Bonn. It wanders through the Eifel
mountains, along wooded valleys and past picturesque
towns, villages and vineyards.
A typical part of the Rhineland? Not quite, for the wine
produced in the Ahr valley is, most untypically for
Germany, red. The Ahr is, in fact, Germany’s largest
single red-wine producing area.
There is documentary evidence tracing the history of
wine-making in the area back to the 8th century. And the
valley’s climatic and geological conditions, high
sunshine levels and slaty soil, favour the production of
red wines and give the Ahr’s their distinctive fruity
quality.
Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, capital of this red-wine
producing district, is also home of the well-known
“Apollinaris” mineral water. Its alkaline medicinal
springs have made the town an attractive spa resort,
along with its half-timbered houses, and a park where
the English should certainly feel at home – it is famous
for its dahlias! |
