This is called Viez in Saarschleifenland and is produced in a wide variety of flavours. Between Merzig and Trier, the Viezstraße opens up the open garden landscape of the Saargau. Orchard meadows, wide fields and small villages along the route characterise the landscape. You can stop off at direct marketers and restaurateurs along the route, sample the Viez and stock up for home. An eventful tour.
The route
The Viezstraße is signposted throughout and is ideal for a varied car journey or a winding motorbike tour. Many sights along the route invite you to make a stopover. The Werner Freund Wolf Park and the Garden of the Senses in Merzig, the Siersburg castle high above the Saar, the Haus Saargau farm museum, the sculptures from the "Steine an der Grenze" sculpture symposium, the view of the Saarschleife with its spectacular treetop path, the Roman Villa Borg, the Roscheider Hof open-air museum in Konz or, at the end, the Roman buildings in Trier are just some of the highlights along the Viezstraße. And all embedded in the scenic landscape of the Saargau.
The shopping tip
A special place to go is the Regiothek in the Cloef Atrium in Mettlach-Orscholz, just a few metres from the famous viewpoint high above the Saar Loop. In addition to wine, brandy, honey and vinegar, there is a fine selection of regional cattle products to sample here. Historic equipment for Viez and wine production creates an atmospheric setting.
The product
Viez is a tart, fresh drink fermented from small apples grown in orchards. Traditionally, Viez is fully fermented with an alcohol content of approx. 5 to 7 per cent. It is drunk neat or as a spritzer. Increasingly, however, Viez specialities with more residual sugar are also being pressed, e.g. the flavourful Eisleseviez. These high-quality products are of course enjoyed undiluted. The name "Viez" goes back to its earlier significance as the most important alcoholic drink for the rural population of Saargau. They drank the cider "vice vinum", i.e. instead of the expensive grape wine. In most cases, they also produced the Viez themselves.
The landscape
The landscape of the Viezstraße is the Saargau. It is an old cultural landscape on the border with France that was already settled in Celtic times. The Saargau occupies the ridge between the Saar and Moselle rivers, from Merzig in the south to the confluence of the Saar and Moselle rivers at the gates of Trier in the north. The Saargau is characterised by its varied orchards. With their tall apple and pear trees, they traditionally form a ring around the small villages. Even today, they offer protection from the wind and weather and give the landscape a park-like character. Many regional fruit varieties, especially those suitable for the production of juice and cider, only grow in orchards today. These are also ecologically valuable habitats for rare animals and plants.
