AHR

A few miles south of Bonn, the tiny river Ahr branches off from the Rhein and meanders westwards towards the Eifel mountains. For about 15 miles, between the spa town of Bad Neuenahr and picturesque Altenahr at the other end of the valley, the steep hillsides are covered with vines - over 50% of them red wine grapes, mainly Spätburgunder and Portugieser. Germany's northernmost wine-growing region, and the second smallest after the Hessische Bergstrasse, provides just 0.45% of Germany's total wine production. Viticulture here dates back to Roman times, and the area is also home to Germany's oldest winegrowers' co-operative: the Winzergenossenschaft Mayschoss-Altenahr, founded in 1868. Like the Hessische Bergstrasse, very little wine from the Ahr is sold outside of the region, most of it being consumed by the locals and tourists.

Through frequent visits to this area with school parties over the last ten years, we have got to know this co-operative well (some of my sixth-form students have done work experience in the tasting room there!) and have been very impressed with the quality of the wines. We thought it was time we offered them to our clients as well.

I should also mention that this winery has recently been highly honoured by a FRENCH wine guide book: the latest edition of the famous Gault-Millau Guide rated this as one of the two best co-operatives in Germany (the other one being down south in Baden).

Rivaner is another name for Müller-Thurgau when it is made in a dry style; it’s light and thirst-quenching.The Riesling Hochgewächs is not dry; it’s slightly “spritzy” and very refreshing. Kerner is a relatively new grape variety - a crossing of the white Riesling with the red Trollinger. Here it is made into a refreshing dry wine for the summer, with a grassy bouquet similar to Sauvignon Blanc

WINE NAME	YEAR	MEDALS	BOTTLES IN STOCK	PRICE PER BOT INCL VAT
Ahr Rivaner QbA Trocken	2001		4	£6.00
Altenahrer Eck Riesling Hochgewächs QbA	2002		9	£6.50

STOCK LAST UPDATED 20 DECEMBER 2008

[Welcome] [Contact] [Terms & Conditions] [Pricing] [Most Unusual Wine List] [History] [Tastings] [Germany] [Ahr] [Hessische Bergstrasse] [Nahe] [Mosel] [Rheinpfalz] [Württemberg] [Alsace] [USA]