Rheinhessen

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The relief of Rheinhessen is shaped by plateaus of resistant limestone, dissected by broad valleys with gentle hills and lowlands.
• The highest plateau areas lie between 250 and 300 metres above sea level, while the lowlands range from 100 to 150 metres above sea level, with vines growing at an average elevation of 175 metres.
• The winegrowing region is composed predominantly of Tertiary and Quaternary sediments overlying a basement of Rotliegend rocks, which reach the surface only in the far south-west and near Nierstein.
• In the north-western part of the winegrowing region near Bingen, Devonian quartzites and clay slates occur, while loess and loess-derived loam represent the most important parent substrate for soil formation.
• The areas with the lowest mean annual temperatures lie in the south-west at the boundary with the Saar-Nahe basin, while the highest values are reached with increasing proximity to the Upper Rhine Graben.
• During the growing season, an average of 65% (355 mm) of annual precipitation falls, and the vines receive direct solar irradiation of approximately 650,000 Wh/m².

• Viticulture in Rheinhessen looks back on a tradition documented since antiquity, with wine having been cultivated there since as early as 20 BC. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)
• In Nierstein, the Niersteiner Glöck is possibly Germany's oldest vineyard site, its origins dating to the year 742. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

All appellations in Germany

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-DE-A1274
• Official trade body site — Rheinhessenwein e.V.