Winemaking in Germany dates back some 2,000 years to the days when the Romans ruled much of southern and central Europe. The wine regions of Germany are some of the more northerly, but that does not mean it is of an inferior quality. In fact, wine produced in the southwestern section of the country ranks as some of the best in the world.

Germany produces both cheap and superior wines. Few beginning wine enthusiasts have not experimented with a Liebfraumilch variety, thinking the foreign name has to mean it's good. Actually it is just a common sweet, white wine from the Hesse region and far from the best. Better would be to try a Riesling Rhine wine.

Oldest Bottle

The oldest bottle of wine known to exist is in a museum in the city of Speyer, Germany. It was discovered in 1867 and has been dated back to the year 325 CE. It was found in one of two stone graves on the grounds of an existing winery.

The yellow glass bottle looks not unlike a wine bottle of today, but instead of a cork, the wine was preserved by pouring a solution of olive oil on top of the wine. While corks did exist at the time, it was more common to use olive oil, which was lighter and did not mix with the wine. Scientists say there is more olive oil in this oldest bottle of wine than wine.

German Wine Road

Just as France has its Route de Vin, Germany has its Wine Road that traverses through the Palatinate wine region, where wine has been produced since the Middle Ages. Palatinate borders on the rich French Alsace wine region to the southwest. The tourist route extends some 50 miles from Bockenheim to Schweigen and covers a territory from the Palatinate Forest to the Rhine River.

This is Germany's second most wine rich area behind the Rhineland, which is adjacent. These areas make up what is the eastern half of perhaps the most famous wine producing region in the world, with the Alsace-Lorraine region of France to the west making up the other half. Like Alsace, the most prominent of this region' wine is white. When planning a visit, the period between March and November is when a number of local wine festivals are held.

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