Last updated: July 29, 2021, with new wineries.
Half an hour’s drive from Luxembourg‘s downtown core we found ourselves surrounded by luscious vineyards. The road was empty so we promptly pulled over on the side of the road to take in the scene. The vines everywhere you look, leaves sparkling under the bright blue sky, grapes ripening in the sun.
Luxembourg wine country lives along the Moselle River, which serves as a wine route and stretches from north-eastern France through Luxembourg to western Germany. A short walk or drive over the bridge from any town along the river bank and you enter Germany.
A few basics
Grape varieties: Riesling, Pinot noir, Pinot blanc, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Auxerrois, Rivaner, Elbling, and Chardonnay.
Must-try wine: Luxembourgish champagne is called Crémant and there are many delicious options.
Wine culture differs from country to country and the North American setup I’m used to isn’t always the type of hospitality everywhere. In Portugal for example, without an appointment you can’t even see the vineyard but that’s a whole other story. Simialry, in Luxembourg most places require a tasting reservation.
While planning this day trip I looked at nearly every winery on the Luxembourg side of the river. Out of those which were open to visitors many simply advised you to visit their wine bar. Most wine bars open after 3 pm. In many instances, as expected, to make a tasting reservation you either need to call or email. As a result, my last-minute planning wasn’t very fruitful so we made reservations for those that allowed online booking.
When visiting again in 2021, we were able to make reservations ahead of time. This allowed us to visit cellars and have a more immersive tasting experience, much like in the pre-pandemic times.
Caves Bernard-Massard
This is Luxembourg’s main and oldest producer of sparkling wine. The guided cellar tour was followed by a tasting on their deck overlooking the river, a beautiful space to sit back and relax. We got to try 3 different sparklings including the limited edition 100-year Anniversary Cuvée 1921 – Crémant de Luxembourg – really nice and crisp flavours. Having done Champagne tours in the past my sister and I are quite familiar with how it is made but with this visit, we learned a few new things. For example, Luxembourgish winemakers often use concrete tanks to store large batches of wine. I’m talking two-floor room-size tank that you can only get into through a tiny oval hole above the ground.
Caves St Martin
Another dark and wet cellar tour and it was pretty awesome. They too have concrete tanks but only use them to move massive batches of wine around. St. Martin produces a pretty large selection of wines including the rarity that is white Pinot Noir! We had 3 flights of 3 wines. Realizing that we don’t need to have any of them the same so we tried 9! Took a batch of Pinot Noirs (red) home because it is delicious.
The cellars were founded back in 1919 and the rooms are dug into the rock where they extend for a nearly kilometer!
Caves Henri Ruppert
The winery and restaurant are located on high ground, overlooking the valley. The building is very unique and reminiscent of those “look at me” LA type of private homes. But this one is classy, modern, and makes sense. We didn’t do a tour here but we did try a wide range of wines over dinner. The restaurant is a unique space, table are set up around a small pool overlooking the valley. It is a spectacular place to see the sun set on the side, in Germany.
Their focus is harvesting the best possible grapes, harvesting exclusively manually over a short period of time. The wines are then aged in wood or stainless steel barrels. The restaurant selection is quite tight showcasing a range of local-tasting snacks, seafood bites, and a handful of other goodies.
Domaine Vinsmoselle is Luxembourg’s first wine and crémant producer and offers tastings in 5 different locations. We booked two (2019):
Domaines Vinsmoselle in Wellenstein
A large wine production facility with a spacious tasting room located on the outskirts of Wellenstein. This is a small but lovely town surrounded by vineyards. We chose the “Wine Lover Tasting” which included 7, mostly white varietals, from premier and grand cru regions. The visit was a proper sit-down tasting and we had a great time learning and chit-chatting with our lovely host.
Poll-Fabaire in Wormeldange
Here for the tasting, we were ushered into the wine bar, handed a 3-page brochure, and left to our own devices to learn about the wines 2 bottles of crémant at a time. There was also cheesecake, so that helped. The wine bar seemed like a popular spot for dates and hangouts and most people were drinking Crémant Rosé Brut.
Domaine Viticole Schumacher-Lethal
Right next door to Vinsmoselle cupped by a stunning vineyard you can see from the road, people strolling through it taking pictures. The wine bar has a lovely view of the river and a great wine selection.
Bonus:
Ramborn Cider Haff
The one and only cidery in Luxembourg. Located in the heart of Rouspert-Mompech the producers take full advantage of the community harvest. In fact, the story goes is the neighborhood had way more apples they could consume so they opened a cidery to use up all of those apples and pairs. It is a very community-focused, sustainable production, they even use those tiny sour apples that no one wants to eat.
Here you can get a guided tour, see cellars, go for a long and lovely hike around the town and through the orchards, or simply sit down under the shade of a patio umbrella for a tasting of their entire lineup. We did the latter, and it was great!
Note: Make lunch plans ahead of time, most places stop serving food between lunch and dinner so you might be limited to eating baked goods.
To end the day with a great sunset view drive up the hill to Koeppchen, one of the most famous vineyards in the region wrapping around a small chapel. From up here, through the isles of grape bushes, you get a nearly 360-degree view of the town and the Moselle River. The setting sun on a good day makes this a fairly tear-inducing experience, not kidding, I almost cried.
In the gear bag: Fujifilm X-T100 with an XF50mmF2 R WR lens. To see the trip on Instagram lookup #xoLuxembourg20, #xoeurotrip21, or see the story highlights on my profile.
