My wife and I will be staying in the Mosel valley for a few days in June. We’d like to do some tastings while we’re there. I’ve read Loren’s notes from a recent trip. JJ Pruem looks like a good stop. Anyone else want to chime in with tips about tastings (and anything else, for that matter - we haven’t even booked places to stay yet and would like to do so soon)? We’re thinking of starting from the Koblenz end and working our way towards Trier.
Be sure to visit the Ruwer Valley (two great producers, Maximin Grunhaus and Karthaueserhof, are there, very close to the mouth of the Ruwer just outside Trier) and the Saar. The landscape and wines are quite distinct from the Middle Mosel most of us know best.
Set aside at least a morning or afternoon for Trier. It was the Roman capital of the Rhine Colony and has an ampitheater, Roman bath ruins, the Emperor’s throne room (now a Lutheran church) and the best preserved Roman city gate anywhere. Trier was also Karl Marx’s home town. Von Kesselstadt’s winery is in the center of town and they have a casual restaurant with lots of wines by the glass, including some with age (or did when I was last there a dozen years ago).
Friends of mine biked along the Mosel. Germany is great for cyclists, and that would be a perfectly flat and gorgeous ride.
Trier is probably the nicest town on the mosel, I second having lunch or dinner at the von Kesselstadt place, next to the Dom. Still there! A visit to the Porta Nigra is also highly recommended. The birthplace of Marx not very interesting. There is also a nice Roman amphitheatre in Trier.
Avoid Cochem. Busy tourist trap.
There are so many small villages with castles and wineries that you can let yourself be surprised. I personally would not want to visit producers I know already.
So many nice surprises to be discovered. Last week for instance we were at Bernard Kirsten in Klusserath. Amazing wines. I also like Dotch Haupt in Kobern Gondorf. He has a big part of the Uhlen vineyard, which is the first top lage you will encounter when you travel from Koblenz upstream.
Traben Trarbach is an interesting place, this was the most busy wine village in the world in the 19th beginning 20th century when German riesling was top of the world. Nice jugendstil buildings. Big, largely unused cellars. We visited Axel Emert there last week. Talkative guy, you can visit his cellars to get an impression what is underneath this village.
Take a boat tour, dont plan too much!
We visited the Karl Marx museum (IIRC it’s called Karl Marx Haus) which is very worthwhile. Each room is laid out so you can go through relatively quickly or look in more detail. In the shop you can even get a Karl Marx baseball hat (didn’t know he was a left fielder for the Red Sox, did you 
)! Incidentally, Marx’s family had a vineyard on the Mosel, and his first foray into politics was a newspaper article on the poor situation of the Mosel winemakers.
I agree with everything John said. I’d also recommend contacting Lars Carlberg (he’s on WB), he is a fount of information on the Mosel and can even take you around if you’d like. It’s definitely worth planning the trip, there are dozens (hundreds?) of growers, most of which are not so interesting, so it’s worth it to not waste time.
Thanks for the very useful info everyone. I’ve actually been to the Mosel in 2005 when I was just getting into wine, so didn’t really do much tasting. Visited the Pota Nigra and loved Trier. About the wineries- are reservations mostly required?
By good producers yes.
Yes, for the good ones. And some fill up fast–for ex we couldn’t get into J J Prüm.
Huge ‘yes’ to Maximin Grunhaus. Very great wines also in the Saar. While you’re in Trier, stop by Fred’s Gym, very fine under-the-radar wines.
Dan Kravitz
Mosel Fine Wines has a free guide for visiting the Mosel. In Trier, you are close to the Ruwer and Saar, which also have bike trails. Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt is no longer in the city center, but the Weinstube Kesselstatt is still located by Palais Kesselstatt. The estate moved all its offices to the winery at Schloss Marienlay, in Morscheid, on the Ruwer. Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium belongs to the Bischöfliche Weingüter Trier now.
In a reply to a subscriber from Boston, I give some tips for first-timers on the Mosel. It’s in front of the paywall, but you have to sign up.
Ok, so a tasting at J.J. Prüm is set up for June 19th. Not sure I’ll have anything else scheduled, maybe just some walk-in tastings and a trip to the Vinothek. Will do some hiking every day, weather permitting. Any Weingüte near Burg Elz that I should be considering?
Karthauserhof still has some older vintages for sale at the domaine, or at least had so last time I was there, so might be worth a visit just for that reason.