The wine-growing region in Germany is named after the two rivers in whose narrow valleys the terraced vineyards lie on the south-eastern and south-western slopes. The vineyards cover 786 hectares of vineyard area, stretching across three federal states. Over 90 per cent of this is in Saxony-Anhalt (capital: Magdeburg), the remainder in Thuringia (capital: Erfurt) and just a few hectares in Werder an der Havel in Brandenburg (capital: Potsdam).

History

Winegrowing has been practised here for over a thousand years. This is attested in writing as early as 998 in a deed of donation from Emperor Otto III (980–1002), a grandson of Charlemagne, to Memleben Abbey. Another document attests to the existence of vineyards in the Mansfeld Lakes area as early as 973.

In 1137, monks of the Cistercian Order founded the monastery of St. Mariae ad Portam (now the site of the Kloster Pforta State Winery) and, in 1154, established the Pforta Köppelberg vineyard, which still exists today. This long-standing tradition of winegrowing is symbolised by a grape in the coat of arms of the city of Jena, where Friedrich Schiller University was founded in 1554. At that time, the vineyard area in Thuringia still covered around 10,000 hectares.

From the 16th century onwards, the cooler temperatures of the Little Ice Age, the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) and, later, competition from beer and wine-growing regions further south led to a sharp decline in vineyard area. In the 19th century, phylloxera and fungal diseases exacerbated this trend. Since German reunification in 1990, the region has been experiencing a renaissance thanks to new plantings and investment.

Climate and Soil

Saale-Unstrut is Europe’s northernmost wine-growing region; it lies beyond the 51st parallel, which is regarded as the climatic boundary of global wine-growing. The soils consist mainly of weathered shell limestone, as well as embedded red sandstone, loess loam and copper shale. Although there is plenty of sunshine, rainfall is scarce. With just around 500 millimetres of rainfall per year, the region is one of the driest wine-growing areas in Germany. There are cold ‘polar winters’ with temperatures dropping to minus 20 degrees, posing a risk of frost to the vines.

Areas, municipalities and vineyards

The vineyards are spread across three areas, four major sites and a total of 37 individual sites.

Schloss Neuenburg

By far the largest area in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, as well as the small area in the Brandenburg municipality of Werder, comprises over 500 hectares of vineyards. It is divided into the three major vineyards of Blütengrund, Göttersitz and Schweigenberg. The wine-growing municipalities with their individual vineyards are:

• Almrich: Steinmeister
• Bad Kösen: Saalhäuser, Schöne Aussicht
• Burgscheidungen: Veitsgrube
• Burgwerben: Herzogsberg
• Freyburg: Edelacker, Herrenberg, Mühlberg
• Goseck: Dechantenberg
• Gröst: Steinberg
• Klosterhäseler: Hasseltal
• Karsdorf: Hohe Gräte
• Naumburg: Paradies, Pfortenser Köppelberg, Sonneneck, Steinmeister
• Salsitz: English Garden
• Steigra: Hahnenberge
• Vitzenburg: Schloßberg
• Weischütz: Nüssenberg
• Werder: Wachtelberg
• Wetterzeube: Bischofsleite
• Zeitz: Posaer Monastery, Klosterberg, Zeitz

Mansfelder Lakes

This region in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt was only established in 2002. The vineyards cover around 80 hectares of vineyard area. There is a ‘ Großlage ’ (wine press hill). The wine-growing communities with their individual vineyard sites:

• Höhnstedt: Kreisberg, Steiger, Steineck
• Seeburg: Himmelshöhe
• Stedten: Pastorenstieg
• Westerhausen: Königstein

Thuringia

The area in the federal state of the same name comprises 55 hectares of vineyards. There are no major vineyards. The wine-growing communities and their individual vineyards are:

• Auerstedt: Tamsel
• Bad Sulza: Sonnenberg
• Dornburg: Schlossberg
• Dorndorf: Ermtal, Rappental
• Großvargula: Hopfenberg
• Großheringen: Sonnenberg
• Jena-Zwätzen: Käuzchenberg
• Kaatschen-Weichau: Dachsberg
• Neuengönna: Wurmberg
• Sonnendorf: Sonnenberg

Overview of grape varieties

There have been no significant changes since 2009. White wine varieties clearly dominate, accounting for three-quarters of the area. Due to the risk of frost, frost-resistant varieties are preferred, which is why many new German varieties are being trialled. Status as at 2018 (0 = less than 0.5 ha):

Producers

Well-known producers in the Saale-Unstrut region include Böhme Klaus, Frölich-Hake, Gussek, Herzer Stephan, Kloster Pforta, Lüttmer, Lützkendorf, Pawis, Rotkäppchen-Mumm and Thüringer Weingut Bad Sulza.

Map: DWI (German Wine Institute)
Freyburg: Photo by Franz – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link