4 Best Sights in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, Germany

With Schloss Neuenberg looming above, there is no more picturesque place to stop for a glass of wine or tour when you are exploring the Unstrut Valley than this serene terraced vineyard with its well-preserved baroque 18th-century vineyard house. The vintners welcome visitors for a tour of the vineyards every day at 11 from April to October. The highlight is the relaxed tasting area with generous pours and picnic lunches available to enjoy in the garden.

Producing fine still and sparkling wines on the bank of the Salle River, this winery in a 200-year-old monastery is a pleasant 2-km (1-mile) walk or bike ride from Naumburg's city center. Tours of the production rooms and the vaulted cellar, with wine tastings, take place whenever a group forms and last about an hour. The wine garden is a pleasant place to relax on the bank of the river and the restaurant serves small snacks. Larger appetites find relief across the street at the Gasthaus Henne.

Freyburg is the home of one of Europe's largest producers of sparkling wine, a rare eastern German product with a significant market share in the West. Hour-long tours of the production facility include the world's largest wooden wine barrel. The visitor center is being renovated at this writing, and there are no public tours planned until Spring 2023, but it is worth checking back to see if they are offering anything during holidays.

The best way to try Salle-Unstrut wine is with this trade group. Since most of the 500 members are small hobby growers, most growers bring their fruit to the Winzervereinigung.  The group produces some of Germany's finest wines, both white and red, mostly pure varietals, with some limited blends. (A wonderful light red from a hybrid of the Blauer Zweigelt and St. James grapes, called Andre, may change how you think about German red wine.) Tastings and tours must be arranged in advance—with options ranging from a simple tour of one of Germany's largest barrel cellars to the grand tasting—or you can simply reserve a seat at the regularly scheduled Friday public tasting at 6 pm. The association goes out of its way to cater to the tastes of its guests, and bread, cheese, and water are always in plentiful supply.