Location and municipality
Aspisheim is a local municipality in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate and belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde Sprendlingen-Gensingen. The town lies in a valley opening to the west, on the western edge of the Rheinhessen Hills, in the south-eastern part of the Bingen area. Here, the Rheinhessen Hills merge into the Nahe and the Rhine.
Climate and landscape
Aspisheim is protected from easterly and north-easterly winds. For Rheinhessen, around 1,600 hours of sunshine per year, a growing season of about 240 days, average annual temperatures of 8.6 to 10.6 °C and average precipitation amounts of 470 to 730 millimetres are given. The highest point in northern Rheinhessen is at 272.5 metres above sea level.
Vineyard sites and soils
Of the municipality’s 582-hectare area, more than 250 hectares are under vine, which are assigned to the individual sites Johannisberg and Sonnenberg. The Aspisheim Johannisberg comprises 110 hectares and lies at an altitude of 180 to 260 metres, with a north-westerly to westerly aspect. The Aspisheim Sonnenberg comprises 133 hectares, lies at 150 to 250 metres and is oriented from west to south.
At the Johannisberg, marls, or Pelosols, from calcareous clay deposits of the Tertiary Sea can be found, as well as sand, or Regosols, from tertiary coastal sands, rubble and gravel. The Sonnenberg likewise has marl and Pelosol; in addition, there is loess and black earth with a high humus content and good rooting conditions. The soils of the Johannisberg are associated with full-bodied, dense wines with moderate acidity, or with lively, slender wines with pronounced acidity. At the Sonnenberg, full-bodied white and red wines are produced, as well as fruity, medium-strength wines with rounded acidity.
History
Archaeological finds provide evidence of settlement in the Stone Age, as well as a Roman bath belonging to a villa rustica and a burial site from the Merovingian period. Aspisheim is documented in a donation to the Lorsch Abbey dated 7 March 767; in 2017 the municipality celebrated its 1,250th anniversary. The name Johannisberg refers to the former ownership of the Mainz town monastery of St. Johannes.
