Location and Climate
Ehrenkirchen is a wine-growing community in the Markgräflerland within the wine-growing region Baden. The municipality lies between the Upper Rhine plain and the foothills of the southern Black Forest. The warm climate of the Upper Rhine plain is characterised by a long duration of sunshine and particularly warm conditions.
Vineyards and Soils
The vineyard sites include the Batzenberg, the Höllhagen, the Kirchberg and the Ölberg. The Batzenberg rises to around 326 metres and shows different microclimates, exposures and altitudes. The Kirchhofener Kirchberg has a fertile mixture of loess and loam over limestone. On the Ehrenstetter Ölberg, south-facing vineyards lie on a calcareous subsoil covered by loam and loess.
Historic Winegrowing
Ehrenkirchen’s winegrowing history includes a coopers’ ordinance from 1717 and the founding of the Kirchhofen winegrowers’ cooperative in 1951. At the Batzenberg, the small, terraced vineyard plots separated by dry-stone walls were comprehensively consolidated between 1955 and 1971. The historic “Alte Ölberg” was spared the land consolidation and reworking of the land in the 1960s; dry-stone walls and stone stairways remain there as landscape features.
Grape Varieties and Wine Styles
Gutedel is considered the characteristic grape variety of the Markgräflerland. In Ehrenkirchen, Grauburgunder, Weißburgunder, Spätburgunder and Müller-Thurgau are also documented. The Kirchhofener Batzenberg is linked with Grauburgunder and Spätburgunder, the Höllhagen with Gewürztraminer and the Kirchberg with Weißburgunder. On the Ehrenstetter Ölberg, Gutedel, Silvaner and Gewürztraminer are evidenced. The range includes dry and delicately off-dry white wines, sweet or noble-sweet Gewürztraminers, Weißherbst, as well as red wines made from Spätburgunder.
