Radebeul is where Dresden's suburbs turn into vineyards. The town spreads along the right bank of the Elbe, northwest of the Saxon capital, and its hillsides are terraced with vines running up from villas and cottages to little summerhouses on the ridge. It is one of the northernmost wine regions in Germany, and Saxony's vintners are fiercely proud of their small production, most of which never leaves the state. Dry Riesling, Müller-Thurgau and Weissburgunder are the usual suspects, and a glass of Federweisser in autumn is almost a local duty.
The town's cultural fame comes from an unexpected direction. Karl May, the author who wrote hugely popular adventure novels about Winnetou and Old Shatterhand long before he had seen the American West, spent his later years in Radebeul, in a villa he named Villa Shatterhand. It is now a museum, and a pilgrimage point for German fans, with Native American artefacts and the writer's own fantasies on display. Nearby, Schloss Wackerbarth is a baroque estate that produces sparkling wine, with tours and tastings, and the Hoflössnitz, an old royal wine estate, holds a small wine museum in a painted pavilion.
For riding, the Saxon Wine Route is a gentle, rolling affair. The road follows the Elbe between Pillnitz and Meissen, sometimes right beside the river, sometimes up in the hills among the vines, with views over the water and the meadows. It is not a road for speed, because it passes through villages and has plenty of traffic, especially on weekends, but the scenery is lovely and the stops are easy. Look out for the narrow-gauge steam railway, the Lössnitzgrundbahn, that runs from Radebeul up a side valley to Radeburg and can be heard puffing in the distance.
Radebeul is a proper town of more than thirty thousand people, so it has fuel, supermarkets and restaurants of every kind, plus a tram link with Dresden. It is an excellent place for a coffee and cake in one of the old villas, or for a glass of wine on a vineyard terrace at sunset, preferably when someone else is riding home.
The valley is mild, with a long growing season, and the best months are September and October, when the vines turn gold and the harvest brings festivals up and down the slopes.