FOOTLOOSE : Light-Hearted Koblenz a Baroque German Delight : City at confluence of Rhine and Moselle rivers erupts in festival during fall grape harvest.

To the French, it’s the vendange . The Germans call it the weinernte . To each it means the same thing: that joyful time in the fall when the grapes are harvested with much festive celebration and high spirits, and when, given good summer weather, a bumper crop is ready to be pressed, bottled and laid down in cellars to accompany good meals and good times ahead.

The September-October weinernte is particularly important to Koblenz, since the Rhine and Moselle rivers, whose banks nurture Germany’s finest vineyards, meet here. Indeed, the town’s name comes from the Latin word for “confluence,” so called by the Roman legions who founded the town 2,000 years ago. They also brought the root stock that grew into today’s thriving wine industry.

Much more important to folks hereabouts, and to wine connoisseurs throughout the world, is that this year’s crop, according to local sources, is shaping up to be the best of this century. Barring steady rains throughout the harvest, oenophiles will have good reason to rejoice.

Koblenz, midway in the Rhine Valley that runs north-south through Germany, is a delightful place to visit, thanks to the fact that almost everything in this colorful town and along its riverbanks seems to be within a 10-minute walk. And while the city was almost completely destroyed during World War II, the Old Town has been lovingly restored.

Although Munich--with its renowned, beer-guzzling Oktoberfest--is usually regarded as Germany’s most frivolous city, the antic citizens of Koblenz run their Bavarian brothers a close second. Wine festivals of some sort go on much of the year throughout the region, and the harvest usually lasts until the end of October.

Now that Koblenz’s Old Town has been returned to its pre-war medieval-baroque loveliness, it also has its share of whimsy. The town clock, known as Augen Roller (“the eye roller”), is a comical face that does just that, hourly sticking out its brilliant red tongue at one and all. Nearby is the Schangel Fountain, with its statue of a small boy who periodically spits water 25 feet onto any unwary bystander.

Further, the Old Town is sprinkled with charming small statues of common folk from the city’s past: a fishwife, a besotted soldier, a lady greengrocer and other non-heroic types. The area’s lighthearted outlook is also projected in the numerous Rhenish Madonnas in the local museum, each with pink cheeks and a benign smile as she looks down on a baby Jesus with rather large ears.

Another good reason for visiting Koblenz is the opportunity to take a day trip by steamer along the Rhine or Moselle. Vineyards reach ever-upward on the hills bordering the banks; wild roses bloom at the end of many vine rows. And at every curve in the rivers, there seems to be another fetching little town with pastel-colored medieval buildings, or a fairy-tale castle perched on the crest of a promontory.

How long/how much? Give Koblenz at least a full day and evening, another day or two for visiting the vineyards and perhaps for a river cruise. Lodging and dining costs are surprisingly moderate by today’s standards in most of Europe.

Getting settled in: The Hotel-Weinhaus Zum Schwarzen Baren opened in 1810 and has been owned by the same family for 150 years. Having gained most of its renown as a popular wine house, today it is also known for its new and lighter German cuisine. Contemporary bedrooms are simple but very comfortable, while the overall ambience is one of homey charm.

Koblenz’s only hotel on the Rhine is the small and modern Kleiner Riesen. It’s just a few steps from a wonderful riverbank wine garden where traditional music is played by a small band on weekends. Bedrooms vary from large to downright tiny, so check them first. Breakfast, the only meal served, may be taken either in a cheerful room with views of the Rhine or on a riverside terrace.

Hotel Brenner is a little jewel-box of a place, with gilt-and-white walls in bedrooms and public areas, baroque chandeliers, petit-point chairs and tassels on the lamps. There’s a tranquil and flowery garden out back. Breakfasts, the only meal offered, are sumptuous indeed, with eggs, cheeses and assorted meats and breads to go with the juice and coffee.

Regional food and drink: Though it’s easy enough to find the rather heavy traditional dishes of Germany anywhere, the introduction of a lighter, French-inspired nouvelle cuisine 20 years ago changed things considerably. Now, the old dishes themselves have been given a lighter treatment,retaining the original flavors of German regional cooking yet projecting these virtues with the very freshest ingredients served in smaller portions. The results: German restaurants now have more Michelin stars than any country outside France.

With the shift in taste preferences came a shift in suitable German wines to accompany this food--lighter and drier rather than the intensely fruity and heavier “German-Gothic nightmares,” as they were once called by a London food critic. Koblenz’s Deinhard & Company has become the leader in these “new” wines, particularly marvelous drier Rieslings that retain the grape’s subtle flavors without the cloying sweetness. Established at the end of the 18th Century, Deinhard has 250 acres of the very finest Rhine and Moselle Valley vineyards, and bottles a light and very elegant Riesling that could very soon wean wine drinkers from the ubiquitous Chardonnays.

Good local dining: Weindorf Koblenz (Julius-Wegeler Strasse 2) has been called the “soul of Koblenz” for its happy, cheerful and sociable atmosphere. While right in the heart of town, it’s surrounded by its own vineyards. Four typical wine houses encircle a huge courtyard, and the food, wines and decor of a nearby wine region holds forth in each.

A house specialty is Rheinischer sauerbraten in a sauce that includes dried grapes and ginger, served with potato dumplings and an apple compote for $14. A Jagerschnitzel (hunter’s schnitzel) of veal in a mushroom sauce, with French fries and a seasonal salad, goes for $12. Both the menu and list of regional wines is extensive here, and there’s music and dancing every night.

Weinhaus Zum Schwarzen Baren (Koblenzer Strasse 35) mixes traditional regional fare with the new, lighter cooking. We had one of the best soups ever here, a tomato consomme with basil quenelles ($6.50). The trout with lemon sauce and a variety of vegetables ($19), and rabbit in a rosemary sauce, or with a wild mushroom sauce ($23), were marvelous. This is one of the town’s very best restaurants, and it’s expensive.

Weinschanke Horeth (Kobern-Gondorf) is a rustic old winery about 10 miles from town, whose many rooms are filled with narrow wooden tables, beamed ceilings, an old wine press in one room, a tree growing through another. This is a favorite gathering place for locals, many bringing their children and relatives, so it’s far from quiet.

The fare here leans toward grilled Nurnberg bratwurst with sauerkraut and pan-fried sliced potatoes ($9.50), and roast young chicken with noodles and a garden salad ($13). Whatever the meal, it seems everyone starts out with great wooden bowls of toasted garlic bread (large slices of garlic, alfalfa sprouts and parsley on top), and ends with the house platter of six hard and soft cheeses ($6), served with a dark farmer’s bread to kill for. Service here is less than brisk, but nobody seems to care.

On your own: Start with a walk through Old Town and around Deutsches Eck (German Corner), where the Rhine and Moselle meet. Now go up to Fortress Ehrenbreitstein, crowning a hill on the bank of the Rhine. It was first built in 950 AD and has the best view of the city, with rivers, forests and vineyards surrounding the town. Back in town, be sure to visit the Middle Rhine Museum for its extensive collection of Rhenish Romanticism in paintings and statuary, some works going back to the 15th Century. There’s also a Military Equipment Museum with everything from 19th-Century arms to World War II tanks to the latest jet fighters. And of course, there is the wine museum of Deinhard & Company in the cellars of a 17th-Century Jesuit palace.

Various companies in town offer cruises on the Rhine and Moselle. A round-trip ticket to Rudesheim, past the fabled Lorelei Rock, is $29. And Lorelei’s siren song hasn’t lured any cruise-ship sailors onto her rock in ages.

GUIDEBOOK

A Lens on Koblenz

Getting there: Fly Lufthansa nonstop from Los Angeles to Frankfurt, or Continental, Delta, American, United, Northwest or TWA with stops. An advance-purchase, round-trip ticket will cost $700 through October, then drop to $628. A Frankfurt-Koblenz train ticket is about $18.

A few fast facts: Some furious currency trading has left Germany’s mark selling at 1.41 to the dollar, about 71 cents each. Best time for a visit is from late spring until the end of October, when the grape harvest is usually finished.

Where to stay: Hotel-Weinhaus Zum Schwarzen Baren (Koblenzer Strasse 35; $87 double B&B;); Kleiner Riesen (Rheinanlagen 18; $101-$147 double B&B;); Hotel Brenner (Rizzastrasse 20; $117-$147 B&B; double).

For more information: Call the German National Tourist Office at (310) 575-9799, or write (11766 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 750, Los Angeles 90025) for brochures on Koblenz, its hotels, the Rhine region and one on visiting Germany. For information on visiting Rhine-Moselle vineyards and cellars, call the Kobrand Corp. at (212) 490-9300, or write (134 East 40th St., New York 10016). For maps, schedules of festivals and general information on German wines, contact the German Wine Information Bureau at (212) 213-7028, or write (79 Madison Ave., New York 10016).