- Hessische Bergstraße
The Hessische Bergstraße ("Hessian Mountain Road") is a defined region ("Anbaugebiet") for quality wine in Germany located in the state of
Hesse among the northern and western slopes of theOdenwald mountain chain. With only convert|454|ha|acre ofvineyard s it is the second smallest of the 13 German quality wine regions [ [http://www.wein.de/1460.0.html Wein.de (German Agricultural Society): Hessian Mountain Road (Hessische Bergstraße)] , read on January 1, 2008] and is planted with primarilyRiesling (49% as of 2006) andSpätburgunder (Pinot Noir, 10%). [http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-DE/med/1a6/1a64f607-a3e5-5117-3d28-952196117f51,11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111.pdf German Wine Institute: German Wine Statistics 2007-2008] ] Hessische Bergstraße is divided into two districts ("Bereiche") - Umstadt and Starkenburg - three collective vineyard sites and 24 individual vineyard sites. [ [http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/614/61407d71-9ffe-401e-76cd-461d7937aae2 German Wine Institute: Soil & Sites] , accessed on June 19, 2008]The region produces mostly dry wines but does have a sizable production of
Eiswein . The wines from the best producers are in a style similar to that of Rheingau. J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 345 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0198609906 ]The majority of the region's wine is produced by a
winemaking cooperative based in the city ofHeppenheim , to which about 620 of 850 growers of the region deliver their grapes. The state government of Hesse, through the Hessian State Wineries ("Hessische Staatsweingüter") is the biggest single vineyard owner with convert|38|ha and a winemaking facility nearBensheim .Because of the small production and a location rather close to densely populated areas, most of the wines is sold locally, and it is very uncommon to see Bergstraße wines outside of Germany.
History
When the Counts of
Katzenelnbogen first cultivatedRiesling in 1435 the first time they already documented wine from the Bergstraße [ http://www.graf-von-katzenelnbogen.de/ The History of the County of Katzenelnbogen and the First Riesling of the World] . This northern Bergstraße was their property: When they died out in 1479 this part of the county came to the Landgraves of Hesse.Hessische Bergstraße was given the status of a separate wine region in 1971.
References
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