Wherever wine is grown, culture cannot be far away

Wine and culture have been paired in Germany for more than two thousand years. The Celts drank wine from home-grown grapes, but it was of course under Roman rule that extensive viniculture was introduced.
 

The Roman Winepress at the river Mosel

They were the first to clear hillsides and plant large-scale vineyards and then they squeezed the grapes in specially built wine presses of enormous size and made highly estimated wines.  To this very day, their wine presses can be viewed along the Moselle River, the Rhine River, and in the Palatinate.

Since that time, Germany cannot be imagined without thinking of wine making: prominent precipices, picturesque terraces amidst vineyards and expanses of grape vines today characterize the cultural landscape comprising 100,000 hectares or 247,000 acres in the wine-growing areas.  Not only has the landscape been transmuted by the wine; houses, entire villages, cloisters and docks have been shaped by wine making in the course of hundreds of years.  Today they are the witnesses of what German viniculture embodies. Therefore, the German Wine Institute awarded some 40 Landmarks of Wine Culture in 2010.

They deserve more regard then what they have been getting up to date.  For this reason, the subject of wine and culture has become the focus in the public relation efforts of the German Wine Institute (DWI).  To that end, in the wine culture calendar (German) to be found on the Homepage of DWI, the most interesting and exciting events are presented each month.  Additionally, there is a databank where it is possible to get an overview of the many wine culture events.  From the 13 wine-growing regions, 40 specially-chosen landmarks of wine culture are presented (German).

Here you will find unique locations which document the history and tradition of viniculture, the achievements of the wine industry and the cultural artifacts hereto.

At these locations one can find entire villages and wineries with exceptional traditions of wine making, extensive cellars, gigantic wine barrels for decorative purposes and everyday tools, all of which are well worth inspecting.

And occasionally these memorabilia impart to us historical occurrences such as the „Spätlesereiter“ at Schloss Johannisberg.  Buildings from Roman times and many cloisters have survived the centuries and continue to be the sites of viniculture – and to them we owe the fact that wine was brought to the furthest corners of the area.   The highlights (see motives and brief German texts) continue in their role of depicting today the wine culture of two thousand years.  In all of the thirteen wine regions of our country, they invite us to partake in a very special tour of discovery:  wherever wine is cultivated, culture is to be found.