Germany
Part of the Roman Wine Odyssey
GERMANIA & RAETIA
8 stops
Mosella Poet's Trail
The poet Ausonius wrote 'Mosella' (c. 371 AD), describing vine-covered slopes that look identical today. This is Germany's oldest wine region, planted by Roman legions stationed at Trier — capital of the Western Roman Empire. The steep slate vineyards, some at 65-degree angles, were first terraced by Roman soldiers. Two thousand years later, the same slopes produce some of the world's finest Rieslings.
6 stops
Rhenish Limes
The Rhine was Rome's final frontier in the north. Legions stationed along the Limes Germanicus needed wine, so they planted it. Mainz (Mogontiacum) was capital of Germania Superior with 40,000 soldiers. Today, the Rheingau and Rheinhessen regions produce some of Germany's most aristocratic wines from the same slopes those legions terraced.