There are some very angry people in Germany right now. If the powers that be decided to build a monstrous bridge and a four lane motorway through your beloved countryside you’d be right and narked too.

The Hochmoseluebergang motorway bridge will be 160 metres high, 29 metres wide and 1.7 km long. It will cut through the heart of Germany’s most important Riesling producing region – Mosel Valley.

“The skyline of the bridge will be higher than the mountains,” complained Ernst Loosen, one of the Valley’s top Riesling producers.

“We’re very worried about tourism, because people come here for the beauty and not to look at such an ugly construction.” As well as being an eye sore, Loosen is also concerned about the affect of the natural water supply from the forest above the vineyards.

There is also support for the bridge which is set to reduce journey time between Germany and the Benelux countries, easing the flow of traffic and making for a more efficient east-west connection. Mind you, everybody seems to agree that the beautiful Valley is about to get a little less beautiful and I would imagine that it is the owners of the vineyards that are having to be dug up who are finding it most difficult at this time.

So is the supply of that typical Mosel blend of steely acidity, intense cool aromas and subtle citrus fruit flavours about to treacle to a halt? I somehow doubt it, and despite the outrage, with a bridge like that they’re bound to get over it