Franconia/Franken

To the east of Kitzingen, some distance from the Main River, the top vineyard sites of Rödelsee and Iphofen benefit from the sheltered position on the westerly slopes of the Steigerwald hills, in the lee of the prevailing winds. This third sub-region is named after the wooded hills of the Steigerwald. The town of Iphofen is surrounded by a medieval wall, and is one of the prettiest wine-producing villages in Franken – is should be a must on every visitor's itinerary.
The steep vineyard slopes to the north of Ophofen are divided into the Kronsberg and the Julius-Echter-Berg above it, are equal in potential to any other top sites in Germany. The vines here grow on the red marl soils typical of the Steigerwald, which in the best examples gives the wines majestic body and structure in combination with an almost weightless elegance.
The wines that come closest to this ideal, and sometimes attain it, are the Rieslings and Silvaners of Heinz Wirsching. Johann Ruck also produces outstanding wines, in his case the wines made from Pinot Gris and Huxelrebe grapes frequently surpass the more traditional Franconian grape varieties in terms of quality.
To the north-east of Iphofen, the road takes the visitor via Wiesenbronn, where Gerhard Roth produces excellent white and particularly good red wines using ecological methods, to the picturesque town of Castell, whose Kugelspiel and Schlossberg sites represent the most easterly of the top-ranking vineyard sites in Franken. Here the Fürstlich Castell'sches Domänenamt maintains a cellar as well as vineyards that has in the past few years regained its reputation for producing first-class wines.

(translation by Peter Gebler)