Everything about Rheinhessen Wine Region totally explained
Rheinhessen (in English often
Rhine-Hesse or
Rhenish Hesse) is the largest of 13
German wine regions (
Anbaugebiete) for
quality wines (QbA and Prädikatswein) with over 26,000
hectares under cultivation. Named for the traditional region of
Rhenish Hesse, it lies on the left bank of the River
Rhine between
Worms and
Bingen in the federal state of
Rhineland-Palatinate. Despite its name it isn't situated in the federal state of
Hesse. It produces mostly white wine from a variety of grapes, particularly
Müller-Thurgau and
Silvaner, and is best known as the home of
Liebfraumilch, although some previously underrated
Rieslings are also made, increasingly in a powerful dry style.
Geography
The Rhine forms the eastern and northern boundary of the region, with the River
Nahe to the west and the
Haardt Mountains to the south. The
Palatinate wine region lies to the south, the
Rheingau lies across the Rhine to the north, and the
Nahe wine region to the west. Known as the "land of the thousand hills", the terrain is undulating with vineyards mixed with orchards and other forms of farming. Its larger towns include:
Mainz, Worms, Bingen,
Alzey,
Nieder-Olm and
Ingelheim.
In general the wines are best nearest the Rhine, where the soils impart more complex flavours. The best known area for white wines is the so-called Rhine Terrace (
Rheinterasse; sometimes Rhine Front,
Rheinfront) between
Oppenheim and
Nackenheim, which by itself is bigger than the whole of the Rheingau. A part of the Rhine Terrace, between Nackenheim and
Nierstein is known as the Red Slope (
Roter Hang) because of the presence of red
slate. The main red grape area is around
Ingelheim, in the north of the region opposite the Rheingau.
History
Grapes have been grown in the region since
Roman times, and
viticulture was promoted by
Charlemagne.
When the owners of
Stadecken-Elsheim the Counts of
Katzenelnbogen first cultivated
Riesling in 1435 they called the wine from this part of their county the
Wine from the Gau. At the
Congress of Vienna in 1814/15,
Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse, was awarded with
Rhenish Hesse as compensation for the loss of his Westphalian territories. As a result, he amended his title to "Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine" and the name of the region was created.
Liebfraumilch is named after the
Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in
Worms, which also was the name of a good and famous vineyard. Later, Liebfraumlich was used as a name for a semi-sweet wine style produced in several German regions, and became responsible for much of the erosion of the German wines' reputation on the export market. The most famous Liebfraumlich brand, until they changed their classification, was
Blue Nun which was created in 1921. Today, no quality-oriented top producer in Rheinhessen would dare to produce a Liebfraumlich for fear of their reputation.
Grapes
On the 26,281 hectares (64,940
acres) of Rheinhessen's vineyards (2006 situation), white wine grapes account for 68%.
Müller-Thurgau (usually labelled Rivaner when vinified dry), the prime ingredient in Liebfraumilch, is still the most grown with 16.0% of the area, although in rapid decline in favour of red varieties, such as
Dornfelder, which at 13.3% has recently become Rheinhessen's second-most planted variety. They are followed by white varieties
Riesling (12.2%),
Silvaner (9.5%),
Kerner (5.1%),
Grauburgunder (
Pinot Gris) (4.3%) and
Scheurebe (3.9%), and red varieties
Portugieser (6.8%) and
Spätburgunder (
Pinot Noir) (5.1%).
Although in decline, Scheurebe has a special connection to the region since
Georg Scheu bred it at the Alzey Research Institute in the region.
Styles
In the past, most of the wine had been cheap white wine that was off-dry to semi-sweet. The response to Liebfraumilch falling out of fashion was to market "Rheinhessen-Silvaner" as a dry wine, which wasn't a great success in regard to the export markets. Some dessert wines are made.
Since more young winemakers get their oenological education at the renowned Univerity of Applied Sciences in
Geisenheim, the quality increases year by year. Nearly all styles of wine may be found, old fashioned as well as new techniques. Due to the competitive qualities at the yearly VDP wine market of the
Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter held in Mainz, not all requests for the 2006 harvest could be granted.
Districts
Rheinhessen is divided into the following three districts (
Bereiche):
Bingen
In the northwest, towards the Nahe river; Scharlachberg is an important vineyard. In the town, one of the most renowened Liebfraumilch, Black Tower, is created by Reh-Kendermann winery.
Rheinterrasse
Source of most of the interesting wines of the region, and home to a third of the Riesling. The
Roter Hang (red slope) in the north of this area lies on a sandstone that's reputed to give the best wines, to the south the soils become deeper.
Wonnegau
This district is situated around Worms.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Rheinhessen Wine Region'.
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