Wine Bars in Hamburg

Wine bars are found mainly where there are wine-growing estates. Most of Germany's wine bars are located in the south-western part of the country, with the climatic conditions playing a very significant role.

Of the 13 wine-growing regions, 11 are located in Rheinland-Pfalz, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen. As wine plays such an important role there, you'll find quite a few wine bars in these areas. But German wines are also enjoyed with great enthusiasm both across the rest of the country and around the world.

With their rustic charm, wine bars invite you to linger and indulge. The atmosphere they exude is truly unmistakable. In a wine-growing region, you'll find a wine bar everywhere, no matter how tiny the village.

Hamburg's wine bars

For those who don't know what a wine bar (Weinstube) is, the name alone gives a clue that wine is likely to play a major role. And what one does in a “Stube” (parlour or snug room) is something we can all picture — “Herein in die gute Stube” (“Come into the best room”) is a phrase familiar to us all. A “Stube” is a place for good company, drinking and eating together.

Wine bars are usually found in centuries-old half-timbered houses, which are often listed buildings. Regional home-style cooking meets cosy get-togethers amid rustic vaulted cellars.

You can experience this unmistakable flair in Hamburg at Lehmitz Weinstube.

Nevertheless, it must be said that not every wine bar in the country can naturally be located in a wine region. Where this is the case, a selection of wines is sourced from the wine regions and served accordingly. Different approaches can be observed here:

Either all the wines on offer are sourced from the nearest wine region, or — the second option — the fine wines are selected from several of the 13 wine regions.

Especially with this geographical selection, wines from abroad — such as Spain, Italy or France, but also from overseas — are frequently found on the wine list.

What's on offer in Hamburg

Regional wines are, of course, guaranteed, especially since most wine bars work together with winemaking estates. Naturally, all the wines on the list are carefully chosen, as wine bars often have limited space. In these establishments, wines from various local wineries are served. This raises awareness of the wine, and tourists might even take a case or two home with them.

Many wine bars devote an entirely separate section of their wine list to so-called guest wines.

For legal reasons, the food menus in wine bars are usually quite limited. Only simple, low-effort dishes may be served alongside wine.

In the French-influenced south-west areas of Rheinland-Pfalz and Hessen, Flammkuchen (a type of flatbread) and Zwiebelkuchen (onion cake) are regional classics on the menu — though only during harvest season, paired with Federweißer, the young, still-fermenting wine.

In all the wine bars in the Rheinhessen and Rheingau regions in the north-east of Rheinland-Pfalz, you'll find a cream cheese preparation called Spundekäs, which is mainly served with hearty bread.

“Kochkäse” (cooked cheese), “blaue Zipfel” (sausages poached in vinegar broth) or “angemachte Camembert” (seasoned Camembert) are all part of the menu along the Elbe.

The baguette with Griebenschmalz (dripping with crackling), known as Fettbemmchen, is served in the “Sachsen” wine-growing region.

Generally, you'll also often find sausage salad with bread, bacon-wrapped dates, feta cheese and mixed or Mediterranean platters. The Winzerplatte, a sausage and/or cheese platter, is also universally popular in wine bars.

Surroundings and wine villages

The villages in and around the wine regions have — in some cases for centuries — been shaped by the cultivation of the surrounding vineyards. The village centres, with their charming little lanes, invite you to stroll and delight visitors with their lovingly maintained half-timbered buildings.

Many of these have listed status, whether on individual buildings or even the entire village centre. But the countryside surrounding the wine villages is also well worth discovering.

Sweeping field paths through the vineyard terraces and hiking trails are both romantic and challenging in equal measure. There are several castles, castle ruins and palaces along the way.

Forests and a carpet of vines — that's what you'll see when you look out over the landscape below: lush green in summer, and in autumn a mosaic of magnificent colours, ranging from dark red to rich yellow and orange tones.

Germany's wine regions

As mentioned above, most wine-growing regions are located in south-western Germany. Aside from the Saale-Unstrut and Sachsen wine regions, all of them lie in Hessen, Baden-Württemberg or Rheinland-Pfalz. But what makes each region so special? Which wine region produces the best white or red wine? And what makes the Goldriesling, for example, so special? Here's an overview:

Rheinhessen, at 26,000 hectares, is Germany's largest wine-growing region. It accounts for around a quarter of Germany's total vineyard area (100,000 hectares).

Thanks to the mild climate and varied soils, conditions here are ideal for white wines. The world's largest cultivation area for Silvaner is found in Rheinhessen.

The second-largest wine-growing region is the Pfalz, with a good 23,000 hectares. The varied soils and consistently sunny weather along the Deutsche Weinstraße (German Wine Route) allow both white and red wines to flourish here. Dornfelder, Riesling and Müller-Thurgau are the main varieties grown.

The longest of all the wine-growing regions is Baden. However, at just under 16,000 hectares, it is considerably smaller. According to an EU regulation classifying regions into seven wine-growing zones based on climatic characteristics, Baden is the warmest of all Germany's wine-growing regions. Burgundy-style wines are predominantly grown here, with half of the total yield made up of Grauburgunder/Ruländer, Weißburgunder and Blauer Spätburgunder.

The red grape varieties Lemberger, Schwarzriesling and Trollinger are found mainly in Württemberg, a roughly 11,000-hectare wine region. The Rotling, also known as Schillerwein, is the speciality here. To produce this wine, red and white grapes are pressed together. Due to its colour, this wine is often mistakenly compared to rosé.

Covering around 9,000 hectares, the Mosel region is considered the world's largest steep-slope wine-growing area — the steepest vineyard in the world has a gradient of around 65 degrees.

Franken, Rheingau, Ahr and others

The Franken region covers a good 6,000 hectares. It is also home to the world's largest Riesling cultivation area. In Franken, white wine makes up the majority of the harvest, at more than 80%. Silvaner and Müller-Thurgau are the most widely grown varieties here. Higher-quality Franken wines are bottled in the rounded, flat bottles with a short neck known as the Bocksbeutel — a real hallmark of this region.

The Nahe wine-growing region, covering 4,000 hectares, is an Eldorado for winemakers. Due to past volcanic activity, around 180 different soil types can be found here. This diversity is also reflected in the wines. Both white wines such as Müller-Thurgau or Riesling, and red wines such as Dornfelder or Spätburgunder, thrive here.

The Rheingau region predominantly cultivates white wines — such as Riesling. In this 3,000-hectare wine-growing region, Riesling accounts for around 80% of the wine produced. This is also where you'll find the largest contiguous vineyard area for Spätburgunder in Germany.

The Saale-Unstrut wine region is the larger of the two wine-growing regions located in the new federal states, and also the northernmost of Germany's wine-growing regions. At just about 800 hectares, it is more than half the size of Rheingau. Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner are mainly cultivated there, since the weather conditions associated with this northerly location mean that almost exclusively early- to mid-ripening grape varieties can grow. Three-quarters of the total yield consists of wines from light-coloured grapes.

At just 560 hectares, the “Ahr” wine region is small. No other wine region grows as much red wine. Spätburgunder thrives here in particular, largely thanks to the slate rock in the soil.

Smaller regions

Goldriesling is truly a fine wine, as it is only grown in the 500-hectare Sachsen region. Sachsen is Germany's easternmost wine-growing region. Otherwise, Weißburgunder and Grauburgunder are grown there, but above all Traminer.

Cultivating the Mittelrhein wine region is a fairly time- and cost-intensive undertaking. Since the sun shines optimally on the steep terraces, the winemakers' efforts are well worth it. The sun is particularly beneficial for Riesling, which accounts for around two-thirds of the total yield of this white wine.

The smallest of all the regions is the Hessische Bergstraße, at just 460 hectares. Nearly 50% of the annual total yield comes from Riesling. Red wine from this wine-growing region is also highly regarded everywhere.

That concludes our information for Hamburg and specifically on the 13 wine regions in Germany. We hope this article has helped you get an overview of the country's wine bars and wine regions. Enjoy your exploring.