Location and wine-growing region
Bensheim is a significant wine-growing centre on the Hessische Bergstraße. The town lies on the western foot of the Odenwald between the Rhine plain and the wooded hillside locations. In terms of wine law, Bensheim belongs to the Starkenburg area within the protected wine-growing region Hessische Bergstraße; the associated Großlage is Bensheimer Wolfsmagen.
Climate and vineyard sites
An early spring, lots of sunshine and sufficient rainfall create favourable conditions for wine growing. The vineyards lie on the slopes at the edge of the Odenwald. The Bensheimer Kirchberg is the local hill on which Riesling predominates. The Auerbacher Fürstenlager and the Auerbacher Höllberg also include steep sections of vineyard.
Soils and grape varieties
The soils vary depending on location. At the Bensheimer Paulus, there are light, warmable and stony-skeletal soils from granite weathering, whereas the Bensheimer Hemsberg is characterised by granite weathering and predominantly strongly sandy, light loess loams. The Bensheimer Kalkgasse has shallow, stony-skeletal granite-weathering soils with stony, gravelly limestone-weathering material. Regionally, white grape varieties dominate, especially Riesling and Grauburgunder.
Wine style and history
Wine production on the Hessische Bergstraße is predominantly dry and off-dry; white wines predominate. Fürstenlager and Höllberg are documented as sites for light, fresh wines with fruity acidity. The town points to Roman wine growing on the Bergstraße dating back about 2,000 years; a mapped Villa Rustica in a vineyard towards Heppenheim is regarded as evidence. The Schönberger Herrnwingert was formerly owned by the Counts of Erbach-Schönberg.
