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‘Best Vineyard View 2020, Ahr’ inaugurated
In the presence of numerous invited guests, the local Wine Queen Emily Bäcker and Frank Schulz from the German Wine Institute (DWI) inaugurated the ‘Best Vineyard View, Ahr’ 2020 on the Saffenburg castle ruins on October 28, 2020 in Mayschoss. A rustic plaque with an abstract grape motif marks the spot for an optimal view of the picturesque wine village below, the wild and romantic bend in the Ahr river with its steep terraces, as well as of the famous Mayschosser Mönchberg vineyard, one of the best in the region.
History, culture and natural beauty combined in one place
For those who have never heard of it, the Saffenburg is an old castle complex ruin from the eleventh century which sits on a plateau overhanging the valley. It is a scenic location and lookout point for hikers and wine lovers that captivates the senses and inspires visitors to stay and linger a little while. This is especially true in autumn when the colours are changing.
Association Mayor Cornelia Weigand listed a number of superlatives that describe the area: best winegrowers, best wines, oldest winegrowers' cooperative, nature, forests, stone walls. She spoke about the wine-growing tradition which has been around since Roman times and a special attitude to life which distinguishes the region.
Best Vineyard Views of Germany
The national competition, whereby proposals from all 13 winegrowing regions are sent in to the DWI, took place for the third time after 2012 and 2016. Former winners from the Ahr Valley are the view from the "Altenahrer Eck" in 2012 and the view from the "Sondersberg" in Dernau in 2016, also offering beautiful vistas.
This was the first time that it had taken place without a jury, but publicly and online. There was a large participation from over 10,000 voters. One decisive factor for a site to be awarded the prize is that it is easily accessible on foot or by bike.
Wine tourism as an economic factor
As Schulz explained during the inauguration, "With this initiative, we want to create new tourist destinations in the wine growing regions that entice visitors to visit the wine regions and enjoy the wines on site," Wine tourism is developing into a growing economic factor - not only in the Ahr valley. Wine tourism is developing into a growing economic factor for the local wine industry. Nationwide, around 50 million people annually travel to the German wine regions primarily because of the wine and spend 5.5 billion euros there, according to Schulz.
Photo: Ahrwein e.V. Kreissparkasse Ahrweiler
More: www.ahrwein.de
Explore the region on the DWI website
Local wine queen Emily Bäcker, Mayschoss and Frank Schulz, head of the Communication Department, Deutsches Weininstitut after the unveiling of the "Best Vineyard View, Ahr 2020" stele
from left to right: Mr. Zedler, Fürstlich von Arenbergische Verwaltung; Mr. Jan Hindrik Kwade, Fürstlich von Arenbergische Verwaltung; District councilor Horst Gies, Member of the State Parliament; local wine queen Emily Bäcker; Alderman Hans-Jürgen Juchem, City of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler; Ms. Mayor Cornelia Weigand, Association of Altenahr; Mr Matthias Baltes, Winegrowers' Cooperative Mayschoss-Altenahr e.G. (Board of Ahrwein e.V.) .; Mr. Hubert Pauly, President of the Ahr wine industry; Mr. Frank Schulz, German Wine Institute GmbH; Mr. Walter Calenborn, Kreissparkasse Ahrweiler; Mayor Hubertus Kunz, Mayschoss; Mr. Richard Recker, Volksbank RheinAhrEifel e.G; Mr. Rudolf Mies, Mayschoss Association of Transport and Improvement, Nicole Sebastian, Ahrwein e.V.