has the greatest
strength, and yet is one of the most delicate, and even sweetly
flavoured. That called the "Cabinet" is the best. The quantity made
is small, of the first growth. Graefenberg, which was once the
property of the Church, produces very choice wines which carries a
price equal to the Ruedesheim.

Marcobrunner is an excellent wine, of a fine flavour, especially when
the vintage has taken place in a warm year. The vineyards of Roth and
Koenigsbach grow excellent wines. The wine of Bacharach was formerly
celebrated, but time produces revolutions in the history of wines, as
well as in that of empires.

On the whole the wines of Bischeim, Asmannshaeusen, and Laubenheim are
very pleasant wines; those of the most strength are Marcobrunner,
Ruedesheimer, and Niersteiner, while those of Johannisberg,
Geisenheim, and Hochheim give the most perfect delicacy and aroma.
The Germans themselves say, "_Rhein-wein, fein wein; Necker-wein,
lecker wein; Franken-wein tranken wein; Mosel-wein, unnosel wein_"
(Rhine wine is good; Neckar pleasant; Frankfort bad; Moselle
innocent).

The red wines of the Rhine are not of extraordinary quality. The
Asmannshaeuser is the best, and resembles some of the growths of
France. Near Lintz, at Neuwied, a good wine, called Blischert, is
made. Keinigsbach, on the left bank of the Rhine, Altenahr, Rech, and
Kesseling, yield ordinary red growths.

The Moselle wines are secondary to those of the Rhine and Main. The
most celebrated is the Brauneberger. The varieties grown near Treves
are numerous. A Dutch merchant is said to have paid the Abbey of
Maximinus for a variety called Gruenhauser in 1793, no less than
eleven hundred and forty-four florins for two hundred and ninety
English gallons in the vat. This wine was formerly styled the "Nectar
of the Moselle."

These wines are light, with a good flavour. They will not keep so
long as the Rhine wines, but they are abundant and wholesome. Near
Treves are grown the wines of Brauneberg, Wehlen, Graach, Zeitingen,
and Piesport. The wines of Rinsport and Becherbach are considered of
secondary rank. The wines of Cusel and Valdrach, near Treves, are
thought to be possessed of diuretic properties. In about five years
these wines reach the utmost point of perfection for drinking. They
will not keep more than ten or twelve in prime condition.

The wines called "wines of the Ahr" resemble those of the Moselle,
except that they will keep longer.

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