The northern end of the German Wine Road is Bockenheim, a village of around two thousand people in the Leiningerland, where the vineyards slope gently down towards the Rhine plain. It makes sense that it should be the gate, because here the hills of the Palatinate flatten out, and the long, warm ridge that has carried you north finally gives way to broader country. A small gateway and a modest museum mark the start, and the villagers are proud of both.
Wine has been made here for centuries, and the village is a picture of the Palatinate: pastel half-timbered houses, steep-roofed barns, arched courtyards with tables set for wine tasting, and a little church. Local growers make Riesling, white Burgundy varieties and Dornfelder, a dark red grape that is a recent German favourite, and many of them sell directly from the courtyard. In September and October, the grape harvest brings tractors loaded with fruit and the sweet smell of crushing must across the village.
The riding is easy and relaxed after the more winding southern sections. Roads in the area are well-surfaced, with low curves through vineyards and small rises, and you can see long distances over the plain on a clear day, with the Rhine valley a faint line on the horizon. Cyclists share the lanes, especially at weekends, and tractors are common during harvest.
For fuel and larger shops, Grünstadt, a short distance south-west, has the nearest range of services, and the villages of Kindenheim and Obrigheim have bakeries and the usual small shops. Worms, the old Rhine city, lies not far to the east, with a great Romanesque cathedral and a place in the history of Martin Luther, who appeared before the Imperial Diet there in 1521. If you are ending the ride here, find a courtyard, order a glass of local wine if you are not riding again, and let the day settle. Otherwise, ask for a coffee and a slice of onion tart, a seasonal classic in the Palatinate.