Location and landscape
Bad Krozingen is located in the southern Upper Rhine region, about 15 kilometres south of Freiburg, and belongs to the Baden wine-growing region. The town lies in the Markgräflerland between the Black Forest and the Vosges. The municipal area extends from the lower terrace of the Markgräfler Rhine plain into the northern Markgräfler foothills and includes the settlement of Schlatt. Elevations range from about 195.5 to 270.9 metres above sea level.
Schlatt and its vineyards
Schlatt was first mentioned in official documents in 1298 as a place of viticulture. The Schlatter Maltesergarten lies between the Black Forest and the Rhine valley, receives on average almost six hours of sunshine each day and is streamed through at night by cold Black Forest winds. Beneath a layer of clay and loess there are limestone layers. The Steingrüble is designated as a single vineyard of Bad Krozingen and Schlatt; the Maltesergarten is also classified as a single vineyard with Schlatt as the associated locality.
Viticulture in Bad Krozingen
The winery Martin Waßmer describes Pinot varieties as particularly suitable for the limestone, clay and loess soils of the Schlatter Maltesergarten. Wines associated with the Bad Krozingen Steingrüble include Gutedel and Müller-Thurgau, while a wine from the Schlatter Maltesergarten is designated as Spätburgunder.
Cultivation and maturation
Martin Waßmer works with planting densities of around 10,000 to 12,000 vines per hectare, low yields, close-to-nature cultivation, as well as hand harvest and grape selection. Selected wines ferment with wild yeasts in open wooden vats, undergo an extended maceration period and mature for up to 18 months in barriques. Young estate wines are matured in stainless-steel tanks; the Bad Krozingen Steingrüble Gutedel >SW< matured for twelve months in barriques.
