- September 1, 2014
ADAC Rallye Deutschland: Mosel Vineyards
- by Lars Carlberg
At the end of August, the now annual ADAC Rallye Deutschland took place around Trier. The 17-stage event is the German leg of the World Rally Championship. It attracted over 200,000 rally fans, many of whom come from Belgium, France, and other countries in order to see their favorite drivers and teams.
Several stages of the German World Rally Championship were held on tight, winding roads through the vineyards of the Mosel Valley. Unfortunately, this year's event included a couple of crashes on steep slate slopes, one in Wintrich and the other in Dhron. As first reported by Wine-Searcher, both crashes destroyed plenty of vines. One driver crashed in Dhroner Hofberg and later decided to just drive down the slope. In the process, he mowed down more rows of vines before coming to a halt at the bottom. It's a disgrace. But there's more than just those two crashes.
In the report, growers, such as Constantin Richter of Weingut Max Ferd. Richter and Stefan Steinmetz of Weingut Günther Steinmetz, talk about the problems of having the rally staged in the region. For example, many growers have no access to their vineyards during practice runs and the race itself. In addition, the growers tell how some of the fans urinate, defecate, and litter in the vineyards or take out the wooden stakes for campfires.
A couple of days after this report, Mosel Fine Wines posted an opinion about the car rally on its Facebook page. I couldn't agree more. The authorities need to do more to protect the Mosel vineyards.
Before the crashes, I happened to be traveling with an American wine critic in the Middle Mosel, before heading to Zilliken in Saarburg for SaarRieslingSommer 2014. I had noticed the yellow race markers in Piesporter Goldtröpfchen. The next day, Stefan Steinmetz showed us his vineyards in Wintricher Ohligsberg and Geierslay (see photo), where he expressed his displeasure with the car rally. Despite the yellow "No Trespassing" signs, it didn't keep motorsport fans from walking in the vineyards. We saw groups camping alongside the various paths and roads. Stefan has had issues from previous car rallies. I remember, a few years ago, him showing me the damage to the vines from crowds going into one of his plots in Mülheimer Sonnenlay, where a stand was built for spectators on a curve in the road. This can't continue. ♦
Admittedly, I’m not into motorsports (I can appreciate it from afar), but couldn’t the race sponsors find another setting? There must be a way to allow the racers to compete elsewhere without destroying a significant part of someone’s life’s work. NASCAR races in America do not infringe on anyone’s private property, and I’m pretty sure that Formula One drivers mostly compete on fixed tracks.
Fortunately, other wine media outlets have brought attention to this situation, including Wine Searcher and Decanter, where I first read about this.
I’m not into motorsports either and I can’t understand why they have to drive through vineyards. Of course, rallying is a type of auto racing that does not take place on tracks.
Yes, I referenced the Wine Searcher article on Twitter.