A tractor and covered wagon used for the Winzerexpress Pfalz wine tour pause along a vineyard road in Bad Dürkheim, Germany. The roughly two-hour tour climbs through the vineyards along the German Wine Route with several stops for tastings. (Chrissy Yates/Stars and Stripes)
Every September, about 600,000 people descend on Bad Dürkheim for the world’s largest wine festival, the Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt.
One of my wine-loving friends won’t attend this year, however, as she and her spouse are moving back stateside at the end of the month.
As a farewell-to-Germany outing, we visited this spa town about 20 miles east of Kaiserslautern to hop aboard the Winzerexpress Pfalz for a covered-wagon tour through the vineyards.
Bad Dürkheim sits on the edge of the Palatinate Forest along the Deutsche Weinstrasse, or German Wine Route, in Germany’s second-largest wine-growing region.
Two glasses of rosé sit on a stone wall overlooking the vineyards during a stop on a Winzerexpress Pfalz tour near Bad Dürkheim, Germany. The final stop included views of the vineyards and the wine village of Ungstein from the reconstructed Roman villa Weilberg. (Chrissy Yates/Stars and Stripes)
An informational sign along a vineyard path in Bad Dürkheim, Germany, details local history and terrain near a stop on the Winzerexpress Pfalz tour. The spa town sits on the edge of the Palatinate Forest in Germany’s Deutsche Weinstrasse wine region. (Chrissy Yates/Stars and Stripes)
We met for the wagon tour at the Kurt Lang & Son winery, within walking distance of the Wurstmarkt parking area, which doubles as the wine festival grounds. We sat in the second of two wagons hitched to a large tractor. Each could hold about 10 people, and our group of four was seated with another group of the same size.
The wooden bench seating was surprisingly comfortable. Long tables featured circular cutouts to steady the wine bottles and our tasting glasses. Baskets of soft pretzels were provided.
The ride was smooth, even as we wound through vineyards and climbed a hill. Grape juice and large bottles of sparkling water were available for children and nondrinkers.
We started with a dry riesling. After each of three stops, the bottles were replaced with new white varieties, including a sauvignon blanc and a chardonnay. The saltiness of the pretzels complemented the white wines.
A tractor pulls a covered wagon carrying passengers along a narrow road between vineyards during a Winzerexpress Pfalz tour in Bad Dürkheim, Germany. The tour winds through the vineyards with stops for tastings of regional white wines and rosé. (Chrissy Yates/Stars and Stripes)
Rows of grapevines stretch across a hillside along the German Wine Route, seen from inside a covered wagon during a Winzerexpress Pfalz tour near Bad Dürkheim, Germany. More than 100 million grapevines line the 52-mile route through Germany's second-largest wine-growing region. (Chrissy Yates/Stars and Stripes)
A German passenger helped translate basic rules: no smoking or vaping in the wagons and passengers must remain seated while the wagon was moving.
A booking earlier in the day would have allowed us time to shop or enjoy a drink at the Lang winery before or after the tour. Our 5 p.m. Saturday reservation limited those options, but we had dinner plans at the Dürkheimer Riesenfass, the world’s largest wine barrel.
The tour lasted about two hours and included three stops and four different tastings. At the final stop before returning, we were served a chilled rosé and had time to walk among the reconstructed columns of the Roman villa Weilberg. The site offered early-evening views of the vineyards and the wine village of Ungstein.
Before we began the tour, a staff member asked whether we had heard about the tour from other Americans, noting that a recent group had bought more than 50 bottles of wine. Turns out my friend had heard about the place from a colleague who went on that tour.
After seeing the prices — most between 5 and 8 euros per bottle — the appeal was clear, especially for those leaving Germany who are able to ship alcohol in their household goods.
Visitors gather at the Kurt Lang & Son winery in Bad Dürkheim, Germany, before boarding the Winzerexpress Pfalz for a covered-wagon tour of nearby vineyards. The spa town along the German Wine Route is home to the Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt, the world's largest wine festival, which draws about 600,000 people each September. (Chrissy Yates/Stars and Stripes)
On the QT
Address: Weingut Lang, Weinstrasse N 61, Bad Dürkheim, Germany
Times: Mostly weekends year-round
Cost: 42 euros for adults, 12 euros for children ages 5-15 years. A hearty Palatinate snack of homemade sausages from a specialty butcher shop along with various cheeses can be added for 15 euros extra per person.
Information: Phone: +49 176 40486978; online: winzerexpress-pfalz.de
