Location and landscape
Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is located in the northern part of Rhineland-Palatinate in the Ahr Valley, between the heights of the Eifel and the Rhine. The town extends across a broad stretch of valley and is surrounded by wooded hills and vineyards. The vineyard slopes are gentler here than in the narrower upper Ahr Valley.
Viticulture and climate
With more than 300 hectares of vineyard area, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is the largest wine-growing municipality in the Ahr Valley and is considered its most important town. The largest contiguous wine-growing areas are around Ahrweiler and are focused above all on warm slopes. The wine-growing climate is shaped by the Eifel’s rain shadow and the proximity to the mild Rhine climate; between Marienthal and Bad Neuenahr there is a comparatively dry microclimate with a continental influence.
Soils and wine landscape
The town’s vineyards belong to the lower Ahr landscape, where, alongside slate, volcanic rock and stony soils, there are also deep loess soils. The Red Wine Trail (Rotweinwanderweg) runs through the vineyards above Ahrweiler and Bad Neuenahr and runs mostly along the north side of the Ahr exposed to the sun. Volcanic activity along lines of faulting formed the Neuenahr Mountain and the Landskrone, a basalt cone near Heppingen.
Grape varieties and winegrowing
Wine production is focused on red wines. Spätburgunder and Frühburgunder shape the cultivation, while Riesling is the most important white grape variety; in addition, Dornfelder, Müller-Thurgau and Portugieser are documented. From red Spätburgunder grapes, Blanc de Noir is also produced by pressing them without prolonged contact with the skins. The steep and narrow plots require a great deal of manual work; the grape harvest is carried out by hand. Wire trellises, single-post training on terraced areas and dry-stone walls determine the look of the vineyards.
