Saxony

The Saxon Wine Route follows the Elbe for 55 kilometres from Pirna via Dresden-Pillnitz, the Radebeul Lößnitz and Meissen to Diesbar-Seußlitz. Winegrowing is documented here since 1161; in the 19th century phylloxera and industrialisation reduced the area almost to zero, and only after 1990 did private estates bring a revival.

The vines stand on terraces of granite and syenite (Radebeul, Meissen), Pläner sandstone (Pillnitz) and loess, often with dry-stone walls and historic vineyard houses. The climate is continental with cold winters and warm, dry summers; the Elbe tempers frost and reflects light. Spring frosts and the northern latitude keep yields small – Saxon wines are scarce and usually pricier than the German average.

Stylistically dry, elegant whites dominate: Müller-Thurgau, Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Gris, Traminer and Goldriesling, cultivated only in Saxony. Pinot Noir is gaining ground. Schloss Proschwitz (Prinz zur Lippe), Klaus Zimmerling (Pillnitz) and Martin Schwarz are the VDP estates; the state estate Schloss Wackerbarth in Radebeul is regarded as Europe's first experience winery, the Hoflößnitz as a historic wine museum. Vincenz Richter in Meissen runs the city's oldest inn.

Travellers combine Dresden's baroque with tastings on the Lößnitz slopes, the porcelain town of Meissen and the Elbe cycle path.