Nittel is situated on the Mosel River about half way down Germany on the border with Luxembourg. Luxembourg is just on the other side of the river. France is about 25km away and Belgium is 40km. It's pretty close to the middle of Europe.
To help you visualise it here's a map.
Nittel is set in a landscape dominated by the river. All around the village the vineyards extend from the river banks, up the sides of the valley and right up to the exposed cliffs.
Like any self-respecting village of almost 2,000 people Nittel has its own web site . Hours of happy browsing await you should you follow the link.
To give a brief summary for those of you who don't want to learn German...
The first recorded mention of Nittel (or "Nitele" as it then was) is dated to the 1st January 1000. The local dialect is Moselfränkische - which sounds to me like an incomprehensible mixture of German, Flemish and French.
It seems that for a long time the main function of Nittel has been to make wine. The first wine making supposedly occurred here before the Romans settled. There are 20 or so vintners based in the village itself making Nittel reputedly one of the more important wine-making villages in the region.
The wine tends to be white, though Pinot Noirs and some good Rosés are produced as well. Rieslings, Pinot Blancs and Pinot Gris are plentiful, but the region's speciality is its Elbling. This is not to all peoples taste, it's drunk young and is often not that refined. But some are good (and very drinkable).
Because of all the wine making the central tourist attractions of Nittel are the cellars. You can generally try wine at most of the vintners. If you call beforehand you can arrange for a proper tasting. Even when you are just going for dinner you can ask to taste the wines before choosing a bottle. Don't be shy - they will be happy to let you taste. If you like dry wine remember to always choose the "trocken" wine. Here are some of the vintners we like here:
The food in Nittel tends to be good quality and is always good value. The places listed below are where we eat most. Prices are approximate per head prices including wine (or sekt).
The Mosel has cycling paths all the way down to trier in one direction and Perl in the other. This allows for some good cycling over 40-50km.
There are walking paths ("Wanderweg") marked out all through the vineyards and over the cliffs. Once you get behind the cliffs you can walk for many miles. There is even a small nature reserve where you can see wild orchids in June. A walking map is available - or ask us if you want walking suggestions.
It's easy to relax in Nittel, regardless of wine consumption, by just being in the countryside and not travelling on the tube, or fighting your way through crowds, etc., etc.