Franken Wineries

Technically yes, but it requires a lot of walking. Look up the Fränkischer Rotwein Wanderweg. I'm sure it's possible to travel by train to the towns along the trail and make some day hikes out to wineries.

DJ

If you depend on public transport, the easiest will be going to Würzburg to taste the wines of the three big wineries there: Juliusspital, Bürgerspital and Staatsweingut, all in an easy walking distance from each other. All have a wine tavern and a restaurant. There are also a couple of minor wine taverns in the city which sell their own wine. My favourite among them is the "Maulaffenbäck", a traditional Würzburg tavern, where you even are allowed to bring your own food (http://www.maulaffenbaeck.info/).

Thanks sla019. We are heading to Würzburg for three days in a couple months. We have been looking for new restaurants there, especially a Weinstube.

@Gary: Another hidden gem is Weinhaus Schnabel (Haugerpfarrgasse). Maybe you want to give it a try.

Thanks again sla019. Both of these are very handy. Gary

Honestly a car may be in order around wine tasting and not driving DUI to really experience this area. Volkach, Vogelsburg, Schloß Hallburg, Iphofen, Prichsenstadt, Dettelbach, Kitzingen etc. all within a 50 Kilometer area. Many are old walled cities with timber frame houses. I buy a lot of wine from Winzerhof Keßler in Prichsenstadt and they have rooms. Neat little town too. A wine tasting you will crawl out of the Keller after if you're not careful. A few good restaurants in Prichsenstadt too. My Father-in-law likes Weingut Emmerich in Iphofen. It's more modern and they have rooms too. Iphofen is nice and it is mentioned in this forum many times. It is hard to go wrong in this area if you like the lighter dryer white Franken wine and Rose. Beautiful area May-June with white asparagus (Spargel) and strawberry time, and flowers and fruit trees blooming. A Franken classic is Spargel with fried ham, boiled potatoes and Hollandaise sauce. Great with a Müller-Thurgau or a Silvaner. Check for weekend Weinfest too but book a room well in advance.

https://www.winzerhof-kessler.de/
http://www.weingut-emmerich.de/
http://www.franken-weinland.de/erlebnis/veranstaltungen/weinfeste/

Is this the right opportunity to discuss the etymology of Bocksbeutel, the distinctively shaped bottle of many Franconian wines?

The legal alcohol limit for driving in Germany is .05 which is about 40% lower than in much of the USA. I am not sure driving is a great idea while wine tasting. Iphofen has been mentioned. It is a beautiful little town with restaurants and hotels. It is also only 25 minutes from Würzburg by train. Kitzingen, a major wine producer, is between Würzburg and Iphofen on the same line, only about 6 minutes from Iphofen. And, the vineyards in Würzburg come right into town.

There is a museum - Staatlicher Hofkeller - dedicated to wines right across the street (Rennweg) from the Residenz in Würzburg. I can not speak to it as I have always been more interested in drinking wines than making them.

http://www.hofkeller.de

Most of the Franken Wein I buy is in Liter bottles. This is the more Hauswein or bulk Wein. This is directly from the Winzer. A lot of good wine at a fair price. Bocksbeutel are more commercial (supermarket) or from echt (real) Winzer their best wines. My experience is Wein in Bocksbeutel is either cheap or the best. From a Winzer in the Franken region the best is a Bronze, Silver or Gold Medallion awarded wine. Expect to pay @ euro 8-10 for a good .75 Liter Bocksbeutel of Franken Wein. It depends where you buy it.

The countryside in this area is worth seeing. The Steigerwald is worth a look too. Not too many tourists other than German and lends the car option more weight.
http://www.frankentourismus.de/gebiete/steigerwald/
http://www.steigerwald-info.de/