Freinsheim conducts annual winter red wine hike

The wine growing community of Freinsheim will sponsor its first event highlight of 2014: a red wine hike. The event under the motto “Fresh air, culinary specialties and fine red wines” is scheduled to take place Jan. 24 to 26.

The red wine hike is a guided tour leading from the town hall on the wine-hiking path to a vineyard called  “Musikantenbuckel.” The event will start at 6 p.m. Jan. 24 with a torch hike. Interested participants will meet near the Baroque town hall that was built in 1732. Torches will be available near the town hall and at winery near the train station.

On Jan. 25 and 26, guided tours will start at 11:30 a.m. at the historical town hall. Wine Princess Kristina I and a local music group will welcome hikers who want to join the guided tours.

The Freinsheim soccer club will sponsor a 10-kilometer folks run starting at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 26 from the Dr. Kausch Stadion, Dackenheimer Strasse 40, 67251 Freinsheim. Starting fee is €5. To register, visit https://coderesearch.com/sts/
services/10400/390. Registration will be possible until 30 minutes prior to the run for an additional €3.

On all three days of the event, local vintners will present various red wines such as Dornfelder, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot, Saint Laurent and Spätburgunder in their wineries and at stands. To be able to warm up, Glühwein (heated red wine spiced with cloves and cinnamon sticks) will also be served. Visitors can taste a variety of food specialties — potato soup, potato pancakes, dampfnudeln, cheese soup, rumpsteak with onions, deer goulash with spätzle, fresh oysters, lobster, scampi with spaghetti, Palatinate tapas, spinach dumplings with cheese sauce, bratwurst, pea soup, goulash and chili con carne. Desserts will include chocolate cake with red wine plums, red wine cake and red wine muffins.

Food and beverage stands will be open from 6 to 10 p.m. Jan. 24, and 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 25 and 26.

To get to Freinsheim, travel on A6 direction Mannheim; take the Grünstadt exit; and follow the signs to Kirchheim, Dackenheim and Freinsheim.