The vineyards of the Rhine region are not confined to the banks of the stream alone. In the valleys which adjoin the Rhine, the vineyards spread out to a great extent, and in these valleys of the Rhine and of the Nahe some excellent wines are produced.1 On the Rhine itself, near Bingen, are found some of the best vineyards. Kreuznach, in the Nahe Valley, is one of the best wine-producing areas of Germany. It is not so much known for any great single vineyards as it is for its products as a whole.

In the region of Caub and Bacharach the cultivation of the vine has expanded to a very large extent. At Bingen the Nahe empties into the Rhine, and following up the Nahe you come to Kreuznach, which is the center of a great wine industry. Bingen is better known to the people of the United States by reason of the famous poem entitled "Bingen on the Rhine," but to the wine grower Bingen is a most interesting place because of its proximity to some of the great vineyards which lie just across the river from the town and because of its being at the point of the confluence of the Nahe. As you come up the Rhine from Bingen you come into the Rheingau, on the right bank of the river, the most famous of the regions producing Rhine wines. Around Hochheim also are well-known vineyards, and the term "Hock" as applied to Rhine wines probably arose from the name of the village of Hochheim. Eltville is another locality known for its vineyards; so is Eberbach. In the Rheingau is found the Riesling variety of vine in all of its excellence and vigor.

The real Rheingau begins at Walluf. Nearby is Hattenheim, near which the Steinberg wines are produced. Near Assmannshausen the best known of the German red wines are produced, of a Burgundy type. Wiesbaden is the largest city in the Rheingau, and Bieberich is not far away. Mainz, on the opposite side of the river, is the great commercial center of the wine industry of this region.

1 The wine region known as the Nahe lies on the left bank of the Rhine between Bingen and Koln (Cologne).

Rheinhesse

In the Rheinhesse are Nackenheim, Nierstein, Oppenheim, Worms, Laubenheim, Bodenheim, and Ingelheim.