Bopparder Hamm

Wine and the Middle Rhine are inseparable, and there’s no better place to enjoy the majestic green of the vines than at the gates of the town of Boppard in the Boppard Hamm vineyards with a vine that produces a very fine, exclusive wine to delight the spirit.

The vineyards of Boppard Hamm, which dominate the banks of the Rhine as it flows northwest, are visual proof of Boppard’s reputation as the home of a very special winegrowing area. The incline facing south enjoys an ideal angle to the sun, is able to utilise the river’s surface as thermal storage and is well protected from the west and from the east, and so benefits from this “mini-climate” constellation of circumstance. In short, it constitutes the optimum environment for the cultivation of exellent wine. The Boppard Hamm vineyard covers an area of 75 hectares and thus is the largest single vineyard in the Middle Rhine valley. It is divided up into individually cultivated areas such as Elfenlay, Fässerlay, Weingrube, Mandelstein, Feuerlay, Ohlenberg and Engelstein. The uncontested star among the wines is the Riesling which, because of the deep, widely distributed slate content in the primordial soil, produces a wine of distinctive character. Typical aromas, for example: apple, mint, and other diverse herbs, give the wine an unmistakeable flavour, immediately recognisable as coming from this region, and delighting the connoisseur’s palate with their delectable subtleties. However the best of the sites could not produce a wine of such high quality without the passionate commitment and know-how of local winegrowers who know very well how to bring forth the very best from their wines. Work in the Boppard Hamm vineyards is still a matter of manual skill among the vines on the steep slopes of the hills. Anyone coming along at any time of the year will see the winegrower busy binding the wine or trimming it or in some way cultivating and guiding its growth. Walks and rambles through the Boppard Hamm vineyards lead directly to the nursery of the grape, which will one day produce the bursting fruit for wine. A highlight of wine research and wine cultivation is the “Walk and Wine in the Vineyards”, an event which takes place every year on the last Sunday in April and offers a selection of good wine and culinary delights. About a dozen vintners and winegrowers alternately offer small delicacies to eat and drink in the way of modest celebration.

The highlight of the season is, of course, the Wine Festival which takes place ot the end of September and beginning of October. However, throughout the year there are many opportunities to enjoy the excellent wine in a wine tavern, where our winegrowers often have their own “courtyard festivals” or to take part in one of the weekly wine-tastings at one of the local wine taverns. Here one will meet tourists and locals alike, each relishing the aromas of these superb wines.