Landwein Main

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The steep sites on the outer bends of the Main valley are frequently intersected by so-called Klingen — former drainage channels of the plateau — giving rise to a fine-grained mosaic of individual vineyard sites with differing microclimates.
• The Landwein region of the Main is bounded by the upland ranges of the Spessart, Odenwald, Rhön, Hassberge, and Steigerwald, and the entire area is drained by the river system of the Main.
• With the exception of the Vorspessart, where soils are formed from gneiss and mica schist of the crystalline basement, the Triassic rock sequences dating from 225 to 195 million years ago shape the landscape and define the character of Landwein Main.
• The characteristic scarpland topography is shaped by the westward-dipping strata of Buntsandstein, Muschelkalk, and Keuper — descending from west to east — together with the intervening planation surfaces, while fluvial sediments in the Main valley also give rise to sandy soils.
• The region lies in the transition zone from a cool-temperate, sub-oceanic to a sub-continental climate, with dry, hot summers and mean annual precipitation of less than 550 mm, while continental easterly air masses bring winter and late frosts.

• The practice of Realteilung — the equal subdivision of landholdings among heirs — has to this day left the Landwein Main region highly fragmented in structure.
• Extensive land consolidation programmes have brought approximately 60% of the vineyard area into modern cultivation practices, thereby enabling the preservation of the steep and terraced sites.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Germany

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PGI-DE-A1282
• Official trade body site — Weinbauverband Franken e.V.