In regard to vogue and excellence many of the German wines hold rank almost equal to those of France. The German wines are associated intimately with the two noted rivers, the Rhine and the Mosel. The valleys which lie adjacent to these rivers are also devoted largely to wine culture. The most famous vineyards of Germany are those on the hills of the Rhine and the Mosel. These rivers give their names to this class of wines. Unlike the majority of French wines, the German wines are mostly of the so-called white character. They are either made from grapes of green or yellow tint or from the expressed juice of red grapes. Red wines are not common in the German vineyards, nor are many of the grape wines of Germany of a red color. The banks of the Rhine from Frankfort to Cologne present the German vineyards at their best. Every available foot of the soil has been brought under cultivation. The hillsides are protected by walls so that the cultivation of the vine can be continued as far toward the top as the climate permits. The very highest of the hills reach beyond the zone of cultivation, by reason of the inability of the grapes to properly mature at the high altitudes. The level lands near Heidelberg and around also have vineyards which produce most excellent wines, some of them of very high character.