Hessische Bergstraße

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• Soils derived from crystalline plutonic rocks (gabbro, diorite, granite) as well as Buntsandstein, loess, and loamy loess.
• The tectonics of the Upper Rhine Graben lifted crystalline Carboniferous rocks several thousand metres upward, shaping the subsoil.
• Slopes are largely covered with Quaternary sediments: wind-blown sands at lower elevations, sandy loess and loess at greater heights.
• Groß-Umstadt: granite and granite gneiss (Upper Devonian) as bedrock, overlain by Permian rhyolite sheets (quartz porphyry).
• Side valleys running from west to east create a strongly dissected landscape with a high proportion of steep slopes and terraced sites.

• The region's winemaking tradition is considered centuries old; the principal variety is Riesling, accounting for 47.5% of the planted area.

• Wines with grape-variety-typical aromatic and flavour characteristics, often showing pronounced minerality and harmoniously integrated acidity.

• Large diurnal temperature swings during the ripening period extend that phase and promote the development of aromatic complexity in the grapes.

Facts drawn from the cahier's terroir-link section (Lien au terroir) by automatic interpretation — see the source.

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-DE-A1268
• Official trade body site — Weinbauverband Hessische Bergstraße e.V.