Leading from the French boarder in Alsace near Wissembourg to the small village of Bockenheim in the department Pfalz you may want to discover one of Germany’s hidden gems on over 80 kilometers: The German Winestreet (Deutsche Weinstrasse). Due to its incredible climate, the gentle hills and its rich vineyards insiders are totally right when calling this area Germany’s Tuscany. As I spent many of my weekends as a child in the little village of Leinsweiler in the Southern part of the winestreet, I am quite familiar with this region and I am always amazed to come back for a visit and enjoy a landscape that is hard to beat. No wonder famous painter and impressionist Max Slevogt, who was mainly known for his landscape paintings used to live above the village in the Slevogthof , a huge castlelike building, in which gardens the painter was buried in 1932. Take the steep Kirchgasse from the centre of the village to the top of the hill crossing all vineyards on a zig-zag way and you won’t regret it. The views are breathtaking.

Interesting buildings in Leinsweiler are the old town hall from the 1619, the village fountain from 1581 as well as the late Gothic church of St. Martin from the 13th century. The well-preserved half-timbered houses through the village are also remarkable and typical for the region. If you are up for a hike through the woods you may walk the castles ruins of Anebos and Münz and end up at the famous Trifels, the castle where Richard Lionheart, King of England was imprisoned in 1193. 

Of course the first reason to come here is to try the wine! Be it the typical Riesling, the Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), Chardonnay or Silvaner – there is something for every taste and several winemakers from this region are by now known internationally: Famous winemaker Weingut Siegrist makes it every year to the Gault & Millau wineguide, highlighting their fantastic Pinot Noir. I usually like to stop at the Weingut Peter Stübinger to have my wine with a delicious Tarte Flambée, which they offer a part from other local specialities. Their son Daniel has partnered with a friend who he met at the winemaker school and they have created a series of outstanding cuvées they call Lausbub-Wein (scallywag wine), an innovative coup by the youngsters. Try the Merlot Rosé barrique combined with the St. Laurent Rosé….If you had too much, just check-in into one of their holiday appartments. http://www.weingut-stuebinger.de

No visit to the Pfalz without trying the most famous dish “Saumagen“, which translates to pig stomach. Don’t worry about the name – it is an extremely delicious mix of meat and potatoes in a skin of a pork stomach, seasoned with marjoram and herbs and fried on both sides. The Saumagen became internationally famous as former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, who comes from the Pfalz, always invited politicians who came to visit him to try the dish. Most of the times it is served with Sauerkraut and Bratwurst or comes together with a liver dumpling and a dark sauce.

A part from all the holiday appartments offered in the winemaker’s houses, there is another great option of where to spend a few days or a week: Rent a wooden, tent-formed holiday home in the Feriendorf Sonnenberg at the end of Leinsweiler. 4 to 5 persons fit into the around 70qm little houses surrounded by lush gardens – ideal for a family holiday away from the hassle of busy touristic destinations. www.feriendorf-sonnenberg.com