The Winery Sonnenhof Josef Gabel of Rheinhessen

Discovering the wine region of Rheinhessen

Rheinhessen is Germany's largest region for producing the quality wines of the Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (QbA) and Prädikatswein designations, with roughly 26,500 hectares (65,000 acres) of Vineyard">Vineyards as of 2014. Many of its most significant viticultural areas are favorably influenced by the Rhine river, which runs aLong its North and eastern borders. The Rhine, along with the Nahe river to the west and the Haardt mountains to its South, form a natural border. Rheinhessen covers an area south of Rheingau, north of Pfalz and east of Nahe, and is located within the Rhineland-Palatinate federal state.

The region has been cultivating Grapes for wine production at least since ancient Roman occupation. It's also the home to the oldest surviving records of a German vineyard. Named Glöck, the vineyard was included in a deed for a church and vineyards gifted by Carloman – a duke of the Franks of the Carolingian family and the uncle of the first Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne – to the diocese of Würzburg in 742. Within a century, dozens of villages were cultivating grapes throughout Rheinhessen.

An early documentation of Riesling as a distinct grape variety, identified as Rüssling, was also found in records from the city Worms dating back to 1402. The Size of the region, and its location on the Rhine, has given it a significant role in Germany's wine industry history. Its largest city, Mainz, has been an unofficial Center for wine trade, being home to several national wine organizations including the German Wine Institute and the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates (Verband Deutscher Prädikats-und Qualitätsweingüter e. V.