Hessische Bergstraße
Encyclopedia
The Hessische Bergstraße ("Hessian Mountain Road") is a defined region (Anbaugebiet) for wine in Germany
German wine
German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Roman era. Approximately 60 percent of the German wine production is situated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where 6 of the 13 regions ...
located in the state of Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
among the northern and western slopes of the Odenwald
Odenwald
The Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Upper Rhine Rift Valley with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin – a subbasin of...
mountain chain. With only 439 hectares (1,084.8 acre) of vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s it is the smallest of the 13 German quality wine regions. At 21% red grape varieties and 79% white varieties, it is planted with primarily Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
(48% as of 2008) and Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir, 10%). Hessische Bergstraße is divided into two districts (Bereiche) - Umstadt and Starkenburg - three collective vineyard sites and 24 individual vineyard sites.
The region produces mostly dry wines
Sweetness of wine
The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine to be sure, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Briefly: sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness; acids and bitter tannins counteract it...
but does have a sizable production of Eiswein. The wines from the best producers are in a style similar to that of Rheingau
Rheingau (wine region)
Rheingau is one of 13 German wine regions for quality wines . Named for the traditional region of Rheingau , the wine region is situated in the state of Hesse, where it makes up part of the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis administrative district...
.
The majority of the region's wine is produced by a winemaking cooperative
Winemaking cooperative
A winemaking cooperative is an agricultural cooperative which is involved in winemaking, and which in similarity to other cooperatives is owned by its members...
based in the city of Heppenheim
Heppenheim
Heppenheim is the seat of Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, lying on the Bergstraße on the edge of the Odenwald.- Location :...
, to which about 620 of 850 growers of the region deliver their grapes. The state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
government of Hesse, through the Hessian State Wineries (Hessische Staatsweingüter) is the biggest single vineyard owner with 38 hectares (93.9 acre) and a winemaking facility near Bensheim
Bensheim
Bensheim is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhine plain...
.
Because of the small production and a location rather close to densely populated areas, most of the wines is sold locally, and it is very uncommon to see Bergstraße wines outside of Germany.
History
When the Counts of KatzenelnbogenKatzenelnbogen
Katzenelnbogen is the name of a castle and small city in the district of Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Katzenelnbogen is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Katzenelnbogen.-History:...
first cultivated Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
in 1435 the first time they already documented wine from the Bergstraße. This northern Bergstraße was their property: When they died out in 1479 this part of the county came to the Landgraves of Hesse.
Hessische Bergstraße was given the status of a separate wine region in 1971.
Grape varieties
The most cultivated grape varieties, by area in 2008, were the following:
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Silvaner Sylvaner or Silvaner is a variety of white wine grape grown primarily in Alsace and Germany, where its official name is Grüner Silvaner. In Germany it is best known as a component of Liebfraumilch and production boomed in the 1970s to the detriment of quality, but it has long enjoyed a better... , 18 ha (4.1%) Dornfelder Dornfelder is a dark-skinned variety of grape of German origin used for red wine. It was created by August Herold at the grape breeding institute in Weinsberg in the Württemberg region in 1955. Herold crossed the grape varieties Helfensteiner and Heroldrebe, the latter which bears his name, to... , 15 ha (3.4%) Kerner (grape) The Kerner grape is an aromatic white grape variety. It was bred in 1929 by August Herold by crossing Trollinger and Riesling. Herold was working at a plant breeding station in Lauffen in the Württemberg region of Germany. This station belonged to a state breeding institute headquartered in... , 13 ha (3.0%) |