Württemberg

Wine-growing region in Germany, with a total vineyard area of 11.336 hectares, located in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. It stretches from Lake Constance to the Tauber valley below Rothenburg (Taubergrund). The geographical and climatic conditions are influenced by numerous river vallies. The Neckar river has a very meandering course, and is joined by its tributaries Rems, Enz, Kocher and Jagst. Along the river banks lie many south-facing slopes that are important for viticulture, with widely spaced vineyards. There is sufficient sunshine in summer to ensure red wines are ripe and deeply coloured. Two thirds of the vineyard area is on more or less steep sloping sites. There are around 70 wine co-operatives, with a central cellar complex in Möglingen. Their members are responsible for working a vineyard area of 8.500 hectares, and thus play an important role in production. Heilbronn is the wine capital of Württemberg, and in a sense of the whole of Germany, as it is here that the annual competition of the German Agricultural Society (DLG - Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft) takes place. Regional winners are first determined in preliminary rounds, and the representatives of the individual growing regions then engage in battle here. There is a state college and experimental station for viticulture, including vine husbandry, in Weinsberg, and it is here that the vine breeder August Herold (1902-1973) developed a number of very successful new vine crossings such as Dornfelder, Heroldrebe, Juwel and Kerner, the latter was named after the doctor and poet Justinus Kerner (1786-1862).

The Württemberg wine-growing region consists of six districts, with a total of 17 regional vineyard sites and 207 individual vineyard sites. The soils are characterised by keuper formations generally, with pockets of shell limestone along the middle reaches of the Neckar river. The Oberer Neckar district includes southern Württemberg in the region around the city of Tübingen. The Remstal-Stuttgart district includes the regional sites Weinsteige, Kopf, Wartbühl, Sonnenbühl and Hohenneuffen. Well-known wine-ptoducing communes with their leading sites are: Bad Cannstadt with Zuckerle; Fellbach with Lämmler; Schnait with Altenberg and Burghalde; Stetten with Brotwasser and Pulvermächer; aw well as Untertürkheim with Gips, Herzogenberg and Mönchberg. The largest district is Württembergisches Unterland with its nine regional sites Heuchelberg, Kirchenweinberg, Lindelberg, Salzberg, Schalkstein, Schozachtal, Stauffenberg, Stromberg and Wunnenstein. Well-known wine-rpoducing communes with their leading sites are: Bönnigheim with Sonnenberg; Brackenheim; Heilbronn with Stahlbühl, Stiftsberg and Wartberg; Hohenbeilstein with Schlosswengert; Lauffen with Katzenbeißer, Mühlhausen with Steinhalde; Neipperg with Schlossberg and Vogelsang; Verrenberg with Verrenberg; Weinsberg with Ranzenberg and Schemelsberg; as well as Zuffenhausen with Berg. The Kocher-Jagst-Tauber dsitrict in the north is the only one specialised in white wines, and consists of the regional sites Kocherberg and Tauberberg. The Bocksbeutel bottle shape may also be used in this region. The Bayerischer Bodensee district has the regional site Lindauer Seegarten. The Württembergischer Bodensee district does not have any regional sites, it consists of the two single vineyard sites Ravensburg and Kreßbronn-Bodensee.

Apart from the Ahr, Württemberg is one of only two wine-growing regions in Germany producing more red wine than white wine – the reds account for around two thirds of total production. The red wines and rosés are produced primarily from the „Swabian house grape”, Trollinger (Blauer Trollinger), this is the leading variety in the region, ahead of Riesling, with around one quarter of the vineyard area planted. Riesling is followed in the rankings by a further three red varieties. Another speciality of the region is ”Schillerwein”, which is a rosé made from a blend of red and white grapes. The Swabians (name for the local population) are great wine lovers, their per capita consumption is twice that what it is in other parts of Germany. Four out of five bottles of wine produced here are drunk within the region, there is very little wine exported. Ex German state president Theodor Heuss (1884-1963), who was born in Brackenheim, coined the phrase: Those that drink wine, pray, those that get drunk on wine sin. Well-known producers include Adelmann, Aldinger, Dautel, Drautz-Able, Ellwanger Jürgen, Fellbacher Weingärtner, H. Bader, Heid, Karl Haidle, Kistenmacher-Hengerer, Kurz-Wagner, Medinger, Schloßgut Hohenbeilstein, Schnaitmann, Sonnenhof, Weingärtner Brackenheim, Weinmanufaktur Untertürkheim, Weinsberg, Wöhrwag. The grape varieties planted (as at 2001):
Variety Synonyms, variants Colour Hectares % share
Trollinger Blauer Trollinger Red 2.598 23,1
Riesling Weißer Riesling, Rheinriesling White 2.336 20,6
Schwarzriesling Müllerrebe Red 1.901 16,6
Blaufränkisch Limberger Red 1.204 10,6
Pinot Noir Spätburgunder Red 772 6,8
Kerner - White 544 4,8
Müller-Thurgau Rivaner White 516 4,6
Dornfelder - Red 268 2,4
Blauer Portugieser Portugieser Red 211 1,9
Silvaner Grüner Silvaner White 200 1,8
Samtrot - Red 136 1,2
Pinot Gris Ruländer, Grauburgunder White 71 0,6
Traminer Roter Traminer White 50 0,4
Regent - Red 38 0,3
Pinot Blanc Weißburgunder White 33 0,3
Heroldrebe - Red 27 0,2
Helfensteiner - Red 26 0,2
Chardonnay - White 21 0,2
Hegel - Red 8 0,1
Bacchus - White 6 0,1
Juwel - White 5 -
Silcher - White 4 -
Scheurebe Sämling 88 White 4 -
Hölder - White 3 -
Ehrenfelser - White 1 -
Optima - White 1 -
Ortega - White 1 -
Dunkelfelder - Red 1 -
White varieties 3.824 33,7
Red varieties 7.512 66,3
TOTAL 11.336 100