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). 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 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 of around 290 kilometres. 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. The soils are characterised by Keuper formations and, in 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 Württemberg wine-growing region consists of six areas with 17 large vineyards and 207 individual vineyards. The individual areas differ significantly in terms of landscape, soils and climatic influences. This leads to a wide variety of wine styles. The areas with their municipalities and individual vineyards are

Kocher-Jagst-Tauber

The Kocher-Jagst-Tauber area, named after three rivers, is located in the north and is the only one to specialise 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 areas. 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

Württemberg Unterland

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
• Markgröningen: Berg, St. Johännser
• 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
• Rosswag: Halde
• 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

Remstal-Stuttgart

The Remstal-Stuttgart area is located 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
• Geradstetten: Lichtenberg, Sonnenberg
• 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

Upper Neckar

The Upper Neckar area is located in the south of the growing region. The vineyards are mainly located on the slopes of the Neckar valley and its tributaries. The municipalities with their individual vineyards are

• Breitenholz: Hinterhalde
• Entringen: Pfaffenberg
• Kirschau: Sonnenhalden
• Reutlingen: Sommerhalde
• Rottenburg: Kapellenberg
• Tübingen: Sonnenhalden
• Wendelsheim: Kapellenberg

Bavarian Lake Constance

The Bavarian Lake Constance area comprises the Großlage Lindauer Seegarten. It is one of the smallest parts of the growing region and is strongly characterised by the maritime climate of Lake Constance. The municipalities with their individual sites:

• Lindau: Spitalhalde
• Nonnenhorn: Seehalde, Sonnenbichel
• Wasserburg-Hattnau: Weinhalde

Württemberg Lake Constance

The Württembergischer Bodensee area, which is free of large vineyard sites, comprises the small vineyards on the northern shore of Lake Constance. It is also strongly characterised by the maritime climate of Lake Constance. The municipalities with their individual vineyards:

• Kreßbronn: Berghalde
• Ravensburg: Rauenegg

Grape varieties

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 around 70 winegrowers' co-operatives cultivate 8,500 hectares, or 75% of the total area under vines. Well-known producers in the Württemberg growing region 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, Lembergerland, Medinger, Panoramaweingut Baumgärtner, 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.