In Rhineland-Palatinate, there are many breweries and distilleries that produce great drinks from regional products. The palette ranges from beer and gin to whiskey and vinegar to fruit brandies and herbal schnapps. Many breweries and distilleries also offer exciting tours and tastings. Important to know: The choice of excellent production sites in the country is large.
Rhineland-Palatinate is also a beer state. The area under malting barley is larger than the existing area under vines. Noble hops from the Eifel ensure that the beer landscape is extremely diverse, with a selection ranging from Pils to wheat beer and dark beer.
In addition to internationally operating breweries you will also find many cozy, small pub breweries in Rhineland-Palatinate. Some even offer seminars, beer tastings and overnight accommodations. The brewery locations are usually in scenic regions or towns worth seeing. This means that a visit to a brewery can be combined with other excursion destinations in the region.
Gin is one of the trend drinks of the last few years. The mostly colorless spirit is obtained from a carbohydrate base such as grain, potatoes or sugar beets. Added to this are juniper berries and, and this is what makes a good gin so unique, a wide variety of spices. The gin distilleries in Rhineland-Palatinate can draw on numerous local products. Be it herbs from meadows in northern Palatinate, fruit from meadow orchards along the Rhine, or a shot of Riesling from the Moselle - the possible variations are virtually limitless. Among other things, internationally awarded premium dry gins from the Middle Rhine Valley, regionally rooted products from the German Corner or local specialties from the Northern Palatinate are offered.
Clear, Rhineland-Palatinate wines are rightly world famous for their quality and diversity. The grapes of the local vineyards are also the basis for vinegar, a naturally quite sour, but at the same time extremely healthy delicacy. Good vinegar is much more than just an ingredient for salad dressing. As an aperitif, it sensitizes the taste buds and stimulates the appetite. Enjoyed as an intermediate course, it has a stimulating effect on the stomach, and as a digestif it promotes easier digestion of the food. The range extends from noble drinking vinegars, whose taste is characterized by added ingredients such as chestnut blossom honey, rose petals or fresh herbs, to fruity cooking and salad vinegars.
The best way to visit one of the numerous vinegar factories and test on site which vinegar is the right one for you. Among other things, very atmospheric guided tours are offered, during which you will get to know the vinegar cellar with its centuries-old barrels and the herb chamber by candlelight. This is followed by a tasting of various fine vinegars, during which you will also be introduced to the art of drinking vinegar.
Carefully selected ingredients, clean spring water, expertise and a certain attention to detail ensure that regional spirits specialties, sweet liqueurs and noble brandies of the highest quality are distilled in the Rhineland-Palatinate distilleries. While grapes, berries and yeast and pomace are often processed in the Vorderpfalz and Südpfalz regions, apples, pears, plums and cherries are among the preferred fruit varieties in the Westpfalz. Among the most popular specialties are fruit brandies made from fully aromatic fruit varieties, herbal brandies and various whiskey variations, often offered in limited editions. During a detailed tour of the distillery, you will learn about the different distilling equipment and techniques, the differences between grain and fruit distilleries, and of course you will also be able to taste the liqueurs and fine fruit brandies or take part in a whiskey tasting.
Cover photo: What would you like - the range of excellent regional products in Rhineland-Palatinate is large © Marian-Weyo/Shutterstock.com
