Sachsen

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The winegrowing area lies in the Saxon Elbe valley between Pirna and Diesbar-Seußlitz, with vineyard sites typically on south-facing slopes, partly in steep-slope (Steillagen) positions.
• A further sub-area of the winegrowing region is located in Sachsen-Anhalt in the region around Jessen, where the vineyard sites are situated almost exclusively on flat, mechanisable terrain (Direktzuglage).
• During the main folding phase of the Erzgebirge in the Lower Carboniferous, rocks of the Meißner granite–syenite massif were pushed to the surface; they form a significant part of the visible geology of the Elbe basin today.
• Sandstone and chalk-marl (Pläner) strata, along with weathering soils that often attain great depth in the Elbe valley, date from the Upper Cretaceous period and partially overlie the syenitic layers.
• These strata were partly overlaid by glacial and post-glacial deposits such as loess, clays, and river sands, while the vineyard sites around Jessen are characterised by sandy soils.
• The climate is already distinctly continental in character, with pronounced summer and winter periods, typical diurnal temperature variation between daytime warmth and cool nights, and long sunny days in summer and autumn.

• As early as 929, vines were encountered during the march of Heinrich I's troops into the Gau Nisan in the Elbe valley, as recorded in the chronicle of Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)
• The small-scale structure and the frequently encountered steep slopes limit mechanical mechanisation, which is why the vineyards must be tended with a high level of manual labour.

• The various vineyard sites are characterised by very different soil types, which lend the wines of specific sites differentiated aromatic and bouquet compounds.

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 PDO-DE-A1277
• Official trade body site — Weinbauverband Sachsen e.V.