Württemberg

The wine-growing region is located in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The vineyards cover 11,461 hectares of vines, stretching between Lake Constance and the Tauber valley below Rothenburg (Taubergrund). The geographical and climatic conditions are characterised by many river valleys. The tributaries Rems, Enz, Kocher and Jagst flow into the Neckar along its very winding course. Many south-facing slopes with widely spaced vineyards lie along the banks of the river.

In summer, there is enough sunshine to give red wines strength and colour. Two thirds of the vineyards are on steep slopes. Heilbronn is the wine capital of Württemberg and to a certain extent also of Germany, as the DLG (German Agricultural Society) competition is held here every year. Weinsberg is home to a training and research centre for vine breeding, where August Herold (1902-1973) created successful new varieties such as Dornfelder, Cabernet Cubin, Cabernet Dorio and Cabernet Dorsa.

Climate and soil

The soils are characterised by Keuper formations and, along the middle Neckar, by shell limestone islands. The climate is continental with hot summers, sunny autumns and frosty winters. The favourable microclimate along the Neckar and the shell limestone and Keuper soils are particularly suitable for red wines.

Areas, municipalities and sites

The growing region consists of six areas with 17 large vineyards and 207 individual vineyards. The Kocher-Jagst-Tauber area, named after three rivers, is located in the north and is the only one that specialises in white wines. It is divided into the two large vineyards Kocherberg and Tauberberg. The Tauber Valley contributes the section from Tauberzell to Creglingen, the rest belongs to other growing regions. The predominant soil type is shell limestone. Well-known wine-growing communities with their individual vineyards:

• Bieringen: Schlüsselberg
• Criesbach: Burgstall, Hoher Berg
• Dörzbach: Altenberg
• Elpersheim: Mönchsberg, Probstberg
• Herbolzheim: Hofberg
• Ingelfingen: Hoher Berg
• Kochersteinsfeld: Rosenberg
• Laudenbach: Schafsteige
• Markelsheim: Mönchsberg, Propstberg
• Niedernhall: Altenberg, Burgstall, Engweg, Hoher Berg
• Reinsbronn: Röde
• Schäftersheim: Klosterberg
• Weikersheim: Hardt, Karlsberg, Schafsteige, Schmecker

By far the largest and most important area of Württembergisch Unterland is divided into the nine large vineyards Heuchelberg, Kirchenweinberg, Lindelberg, Salzberg, Schalkstein, Schozachtal, Stauffenberg, Stromberg and Wunnenstein. The vineyards are mainly located in the middle and lower Neckar valley, as well as being highly fragmented into many small areas east of the Neckar along the Bottwar, Murr and Schozach tributaries. The climatic conditions and soils are somewhat different in this area. The terraced vineyards on the banks of the river are characterised by shell limestone, those away from it by Keuper. Well-known wine-growing communities with their individual vineyards are:

• Abstatt: Burgberg, Burg Wildeck, Sommerberg
• Beilstein: Steinberg, Wartberg
• Besigheim: Felsengarten, Wurmberg
• Bönnigheim: Kirchberg, Sonnenberg (Schupen and Steingrüben vineyards)
• Brackenheim: Dachsberg, Mönchsberg, Schlossberg, Wolfsaugen, Zweifelberg
• Bretzfeld: Goldberg, Himmelreich
• Cleebronn: Michaelsberg
• Dimbach: Himmelreich
• Ellenhofen: Ranzenberg, Wildenberg
• Erlenbach: Kayberg
• Flein: Altenberg, Eselsberg, Sonnenberg
• Güglingen: Kaiserberg
• Gündelbach: Steinbachhof, Wachtkopf
• Gundelsheim: Himmelreich
• Häfnerhaslach: Heiligenberg
• Heilbronn: Sonnenberg, Stahlbühl, Stiftsberg (Gewann Klinge), Wartberg
• Hessigheim: Felsengarten, Wurmberg
• Hohenbeilstein: Schlosswengert
• Hohenhaslach: Kirchberg, Klosterberg
• Höpfigheim: Königsberg
• Illingen: Forstgrube, Halde, Schanzreiter
• Ilsfeld: Rappen
• Kleinbottwar: Götzenberg, Lichtenberg, Oberer Berg, Süßmund
• Lauffen: Jungfer, Katzenbeißer, Riedersbückele
• Lehrensteinsfeld: Steinacker
• Löwenstein: Sommerberg, Wohlfahrtsberg
• Ludwigsburg: Neckarhälde
• Maulbronn: Closterweinberg, Eilfingerberg, Reichshalde
• Mühlhausen: Halde, Steinhalde, Zuckerle
• Mundelsheim: Käsberg, Mühlbächer, Rozenberg
• Neckarsulm: Scheuerberg
• Neckarzimmern: Götzhalde, Kirchweinberg, Wallmauer
• Neipperg: Grafenberg, Schlossberg, Steingrube
• Nordheim: Grafenberg, Gräfenberg, Sonntagsberg
• Oberderdingen: Kupferhalde
• Oberstenfeld: Forstberg, Lichtenberg
• Schozach: Roter Berg, Schelmenklinge
• Schützingen: Heiligenberg
• Schwaigern: Grafenberg, Ruthe, Sonnenberg
• Siebeneich: Himmelreich
• Spielberg: Liebenberg
• Steinheim: Burgberg
• Talheim: Hohe Eiche, Schlossberg, Sonnenberg, Stiftsberg
• Vaihingen: Halde
• Verrenberg: Goldberg, Verrenberg
• WeinsbergRanzenberg, Schemelsberg
• Willsbach: Dieblesberg
• Zuffenhausen: Berg

The Remstal-Stuttgart area lies in the south-east of the wine-growing region. The vineyards are mainly located up to 400 metres above sea level in the Rems river valley. It is divided into five large vineyards: Hohenneuffen, Kopf, Sonnenbühl, Wartbühl and Weinsteige. There is a certain Riesling tradition in this somewhat cooler and rainier area. Well-known wine-growing communities with their individual vineyards are:

• Bad Cannstadt: Berg, Halde, Herzogenberg, Mönchberg, Mönchhalde, Zuckerle
• Beutelsbach: Altenberg, Burghalde, Sonnenberg
• Breuningsweiler: Haselstein, Holzenberg
• Bürg: Schlossberg
• Degerloch: Scharrenberg
• Endersbach: Hintere Klinge, Wetzstein
• Esslingen: Burg, Kirchberg, Neckarhalde, Schenkenberg
• Fellbach: Gips, Goldberg, Herzogenberg, Lämmler, Mönchberg
• Gaisburg: Abelsberg
• Großheppach: Steingrüble, Wanne, Zügernberg
• Grunbach: Berghalde, Klingle
• Hanweiler: Berg, Maien
• Hebsack: Lichtenberg
• Hertmannsweiler: Himmelreich
• Kleinheppach: Greiner, Sonnenberg, Steingrüble
• Korb: Berg, Sommerhalde, Steingrüble
• Neustadt: Söhrenberg
• Obertürkheim: Kirchberg
• Rohracker: Lenzenberg
• Rommelshausen: Häder, Mönchberg
• Schnait: Altenberg, Burghalde, Sonnenberg
• Schorndorf: Grafenberg
• Steinreinach: Hörnle
• Stetten: Brotwasser, Häder, Lindhälder, Mönchberg (Gewanne Berge and Gehrnhalde), Pulvermächer, Sonnenberg
• Strümpfelbach: Altenberg, Nonnenberg
• Stuttgart: Kriegsberg, Mönchshalde, Schlossberg
• Uhlbach: Götzenberg
• Untertürkheim: Altenberg, Gips, Herzogenberg, Mönchberg
• Winnenden: Berg, Haselstein, Holzenberg
• Winterbach: Hungerberg

The Upper Neckar area is located in the south of the wine-growing region with vineyards around Tübingen. The municipalities with their individual vineyards are Breitenholz with Hinterhalde; Entringen with Pfaffenberg; Kirschau with Sonnenhalden; Reutlingen with Sommerhalde; Rottenburg with Kapellenberg; Tübingen with Sonnenhalden; and Wendelsheim with Kapellenberg. The Bavarian Lake Constance area comprises the single Großlage Lindauer Seegarten with the municipalities and their individual vineyards Lindau with Spitalhalde; Nonnenhorn with Seehalde and Sonnenbichel; and Wasserburg-Hattnau with Weinhalde. The Württembergischer Bodensee area, which is free of large vineyard sites, comprises only the two municipalities of Kreßbronn with Berghalde; and Ravensburg with Rauenegg.

Grape variety index

Alongside Ahr, Württemberg is one of the two German wine-growing regions where significantly more red wines are produced than white wines. However, as in many other wine-growing regions, the proportion of red wine varieties has fallen slightly. There were no major changes compared to 2009. Trollinger is still in the lead. This "Swabian home grape", which is not found in most other growing regions and is potentially not one of the top varieties, is grown in the highest quality locations. It is followed by Riesling and three other red wine varieties: Schwarzriesling, Limberger (Blaufränkisch) and Pinot Noir. A Württemberg speciality is the Schiller wine made from white and red grapes. The status 2018:

Producers

The members of 70 winegrowers' cooperatives with a central winery in Möglingen cultivate around 8,500 hectares, three quarters of the total vineyard area. Well-known producers include Adelmann, Aldinger Gerhard, Beurer, Brüderlich, Busch Karl, Collegium Wirtemberg, Dautel, Dolde Helmut, Doreas, Drautz-Able, Eisele Alexander, Ellwanger Bernhard, Ellwanger Jürgen, Escher Ottmar, Fellbacher Weingärtner, Friedauer, Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Oehringen, G.A. Heinrich, Graf Neipperg, Graf von Bentzel Sturmfeder, GravinO, Häge, Haidle Karl, Haidle Wolfgang, Heid Markus, Herzog von Württemberg, Hirth - Rebhof, Kistenmacher-Hengerer, Knauß, Kuhnle Werner, Kurz-Wagner, Kusterer, Laicher, Medinger, Sankt Annagarten, Schäfer-Heinrich, Schäfer Reinhard, Schloßgut Hohenbeilstein, Schnaitmann, Schütz Benjamin, Schwegler Albrecht, Seyffer, Siegloch, Singer-Bader, Sonnenhof, Steinbachhof, Wangler, Weingärtner Brackenheim, Weingärtner Cleebronn-Güglingen, Weinmanufaktur Untertürkheim, Weinsberg, Wo der Hahn kräht, Wöhrwag and Zimmerle.