Location and Landscape
Ballrechten-Dottingen lies in the Markgräflerland at the transition from the Black Forest foothills to the High Black Forest. The municipality is around 20 kilometres south of Freiburg, 40 kilometres north of Basel and 30 kilometres east of Mulhouse. The municipal area includes broad loess and loess loam hills, which are cut through by the Sulzbach, as well as vineyard slopes to the east of Ballrechten. The Castellberg reaches an elevation of around 439 metres.
Viticulture on the Castellberg
With around 200 hectares of vineyard area, Ballrechten-Dottingen is one of the significant wine-growing communities in the Markgräflerland. The sunny vineyards of the Castellberg lie on Tertiary and Jurassic rock. Gutedel, Müller-Thurgau, Spätburgunder, Gewürztraminer and Grauburgunder are grown, among others.
Wine Styles and Historic Terraces
Drier Gutedel, dry Grauburgunder, Gutedel Kabinett, Gutedel Spätlese and Gutedel Trockenbeerenauslese are documented. A local Grauburgunder from the Castellberg was developed in barrique. The south- and south-east-facing terraces of the historic vineyard were laid out systematically from 1784 onwards. Over 200-year-old dry-stone walls and stone steps characterise the steep vineyard area.
History
Ballrechten is first documented in 804 as “villa baldrathinga” in a catalogue of properties of the Abbey of Lorsch, while Dottingen is first recorded in 1265. The two formerly independent communities were merged in 1971 as part of the municipal reform. The Ballrechten-Dottingen winegrowers’ cooperative was founded in 1950. The municipal coat of arms points to a wine-growing tradition of more than 1,100 years.
