The Winery Schäfer Heinrich of Württemberg

Discovering the wine region of Württemberg

Württemberg is known as Germany's premier red wine region. With almost 11,500 hectares (28,500 acres) of vineyards, it is the fourth-largest wine region in the country. Found adjacent to Baden and South of Franken, Wüttemberg is a particularly hilly and rural wine-region. Almost 70-percent of Württemberg wines are red, predominantly made from Trollinger, SchwarzRiesling and Lemberger.

These red wines tend to be light and Fruity, due to the cool temperatures in this region. While more winemakers are beginning to make higher-alcohol, more heavily extracted examples, the local consumers are well accustomed to the style. While Riesling represents nearly two-thirds of the white wines produced in Württemberg, Müller-Thurgau and Kerner are also traditionally grown here. Riesling from the Village of Flein (which means "Hard pebble") is particularly well regarded.

Württemberg’s main viticultural areas line the Neckar river, and spread up into tributary valleys such as the Rems, Enz, Kocher, Jagst and Tauber. There is also an isolated outcrop of vineyards around Friedrichshafen, on the shores of the Bodensee (Lake Constance). In the North of the region, steep riverside slopes provide the dramatic and labor-intensive landscape on which most Württemberg vines are grown, making use of sunny, south-facing aspects wherever possible. They provide the region with a growing wine tourism industry.