Southeast of the Rheingau on the warm sandstone slopes between Heppenheim and Darmstadt, the Hessische Bergstrasse covers around 460 hectares across 13 German wine-growing regions, with Bensheim as the anchor town.
Tip: The Hessische Bergstrasse is small enough for a real half-day; combine Bensheim's Staatsweingut with a Heppenheim village tasting.
East of the Rheingau along the Main, Franconia centres on Wuerzburg with the Stein vineyard above the city and a Silvaner-led identity. Bottled in the flat Bocksbeutel, Franken wines run drier and stonier than the Rheingau Rieslings.
Pours: Franken Silvaner trocken, Wuerzburger Stein Silvaner, Franken Riesling trocken
Tip: Make it an overnight in Wuerzburg; the Stein vineyard above the city and the Residenz cellar together earn a full day, not a half.
Hessen's state capital and a 19th-century spa town just east of the Rheingau, with the Rheingauer Weinwoche on the Schlossplatz in August and the Henkell Freixenet Sekt house on the Wiesbaden-Biebrich edge.
Pours: Rheingau Riesling on the Schlossplatz, Rheingau Spaetburgunder, Sekt at Henkell Freixenet
Tip: Pair Henkell Freixenet's Sektkellerei tour with a Rheingau Riesling night on the Schlossplatz; the city is a 25-minute drive from any river village.
Just east of the Rheingau down the Main, Frankfurt is the urban anchor of the region, with Rheingau-focused wine bars across Sachsenhausen and the Altstadt alongside its own Apfelwein cider tradition.
Pours: Rheingau Riesling at city wine bars, Frankfurt Apfelwein (apple wine), Henkell Sekt
Tip: Use Frankfurt as an arrival base; the S-Bahn line out to Hochheim, Wiesbaden and Eltville turns the city into the Rheingau's transport hub.
The Rheingau's sister Riesling region west of Koblenz, with the Middle Mosel's steep slate slopes around Bernkastel, Wehlen and Piesport producing featherlight, slatey Riesling at a sharper register than the fuller Rheingau wines.
Pours: Mosel Riesling Kabinett, Mosel Riesling Spaetlese, Mosel Riesling Grosses Gewaechs
Tip: Make it an overnight rather than a day; the Middle Mosel sundial villages need two or three estate stops to read the slate spectrum.
Directly across the Rhine from the Rheingau, Rheinhessen's Roter Hang slopes between Nierstein and Nackenheim make Germany's other red-slate Riesling, with the urban anchor of Mainz at its eastern edge.
Pours: Rheinhessen Riesling trocken, Niersteiner Roter Hang Riesling, Rheinhessen Spaetburgunder
Tip: Take the Bingen-to-Ruedesheim car ferry across the Rhine; it puts the eastern Roter Hang within a 30-minute drive of any Rheingau base.
Immediately west of the Rheingau down the Rhine, the Mittelrhein runs the Bacharach-Loreley stretch through the UNESCO Upper Middle Rhine Valley, with steep slate vineyards on both banks of the river.
Pours: Mittelrhein Riesling trocken, Bacharacher Riesling, Mittelrhein Spaetburgunder
Tip: Take the boat from Ruedesheim past the Loreley to Bacharach for a vineyard-from-the-river view, then taste at a Bacharach Riesling estate on arrival.