Landscape

Germany is a country of wines. The remnants of a Roman estate and wine press house from the third century close to Lauffen am Neckar are witness to the long history of viticulture in Germany. The character of a wine is very closely linked to soil, climate, site and grape variety. In this region, therefore, the cultivation of wine is carried out only on sites benefiting from favourable climatic conditions. This stems from the region‘s extremely diverse geological conditions, ranging from heavy gypsum keuper to loess, shell limestone and sandstone to volcanic rock. Most of the wines ripen an south-facing slopes and terraced or sleep hillsides, yielding grapes that are sweet and spicy, full of fruit and aroma.Those areas are situated between Esslingen and Gundelsheim, along the river Neckar as well as along its effluents the Rems, Murr, Sulm, Kocher, Jagst, Zaber, Lein, and Enz und also in the Tauber valley. In most cases, the vines are planted on keuper or shell limestone deposits and loess clay or oolitic limestone. Here, the vineyards spread out across the slopes und terraced hill sides, many of them steep. The plots are nearly always well exposed to sunshine, producing grapes which are sweet and spicy, full of flavour and fruit

In addition to the Swabian specialty Trollinger, the most popular grape varieties are Schwarzriesling, Lemberger and Spälburgunder. Among the white varieties, Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Grauburgunder and Gewürztraminer set the tone.