Location and landscape
Alken is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate. The town lies on the right bank of the lower Moselle in the area of the Terrassenmosel. Above the Moselle valley, vineyard slopes rise; below it are the Bleidenberg and the Burgberg.
Soils and viticulture
The sunny landscape of the lower Moselle is characterised by steep slopes and narrow terraces. The soils include clay slate and quartzitic sandstone. For the Alkener Hunnenstein, red quartzites and sandstones, as well as blue, grey and reddish slates, are also documented.
The three named vineyard sites are Alkener Bleidenberg, Alkener Burgberg and Alkener Hunnenstein. Riesling, Blauer Spätburgunder, Kerner and Dornfelder are grown. In the Hunnenstein, steep-slope viticulture with old vines on several terraces and a younger wire-training system are documented.
Wines
From Alken, Riesling, Blauer Spätburgunder, Kerner and Dornfelder wines are documented. Examples from the Burgberg and Bleidenberg sites include dry, delicately sweet and sweet Riesling wines. Riesling grapes from a plot in the Alkener Burgberg are hand-harvested.
History and wine tradition
For Alken, Celtic and Roman origins are documented; according to local tradition, the settlement developed from the Roman name Villa Alcana. Viticulture is also documented for the Middle Ages: During the conflict over Thurant Castle in the years 1246 to 1248, large quantities of wine were consumed. In the historic Wiltberger wine cellar, wine matures in old wooden casks in cellar vaults that are more than 300 years old. Alken’s vineyards belong to the protected designation of origin Mosel.
