Sächsischer Landwein

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• About 95% of the vineyard area of the Sächsisches Landwein region lies in the Saxon Elbe valley between Pirna and Diesbar-Seußlitz, on both banks of the Elbe.
• During the main folding phase of the Ore Mountains in the Lower Carboniferous, rocks of the Meißner granite-syenite massif were pushed to the surface; these today form a significant part of the exposed geology of the Elbe basin.
• From the Upper Cretaceous period date layers of sandstone and Pläner limestone, together with weathered soils that frequently reach considerable depths in the Elbe valley and partly overlie the syenitic strata.
• These Cretaceous layers were in turn partly covered by glacial and post-glacial deposits such as loess, clays, and river sands, with the result that the vineyard sites in Saxony are characterised by a highly diverse range of soil types.
• The Sächsisches Landwein region is the most north-easterly in Germany, and here the influence of a continental climate is already dominant, with pronounced summer and winter periods.

• About 5% of the vineyard area lies outside the Elbe valley, in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Brandenburg; these are sites with documented historical viticultural use that were assigned to the Saxony wine region on account of their geographic proximity.
• The small-scale structure of the landscape and the steep slopes frequently encountered limit mechanisation, so the vineyards are maintained with a high level of manual labour.
• Intensive care has a stabilising effect on yields and promotes the quality of the harvested fruit, with human influence drawing on a centuries-old tradition of viticulture.

• The intensive, labour-intensive management of the vineyards substantially promotes the quality of the harvested fruit with regard to natural minimum alcohol level, the development of aromas, and the balance of acidity in the wine.

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 PGI-DE-A1303
• Official trade body site — Weinbauverband Sachsen e.V.