What is "nahe"

The Nahe is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, Germany, a left tributary to the Rhine. It has also given name to the wine region Nahe situated around it.

The name Nahe is derived from the Latin word Nava, which is supposed to be based upon the Celtic origin for the wild river. The Nahe separates the northern part of the Palatinate from the Hunsrück.

It rises in the area of Nohfelden (Saarland), flowing through Rhineland-Palatinate and joining the Rhine in Bingen. Its length is . Towns along the Nahe include Idar-Oberstein, Kirn, Bad Kreuznach and Bingen.

Nahe is a region (Anbaugebiet) for quality wine in Germany, along the River Nahe in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. On the region's of vineyards in 2008, white wine grapes dominate with 75% and Riesling is the most common variety with 27.2%. A characteristic of the Nahe region is that the soils are very varied owing to the region's volcanic origins.

Although the region was populated already in Roman times, and the village of Monzingen was mentioned as a wine village as early as 778, the Nahe wine region was defined only with the 1971 German wine law. Before that, the wines were sold as plain "Rhine wine". In recent decades, several Nahe producers have made a name for themselves with Riesling wines that have been rated very highly by international wine critics, and have come to be seen as being on par with the best wines of Moselle and Rheingau wines.

Nahe may refer to:

• Nahe (river), river in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, Germany
• Nahe, Schleswig-Holstein, municipality in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
• Nahe (wine region), region (Anbaugebiet) for quality wine in Germany

Nahe (Schleuse) is a river of Thuringia, Germany.