Location and city history
Dornburg-Camburg is in the Saale-Holzland district in Thuringia, in the central Saale valley. Today’s city was formed on 1 December 2008 through the incorporation of Dornburg and Dorndorf-Steudnitz into Camburg. Dornburg was first documented in 937 and was referred to as a town in 1343.
Landscape and wine-growing climate
Camburg lies in the Saale valley and is surrounded by steep, wooded slopes as well as open Muschelkalk rock faces. The growing area Saale-Unstrut has a climate influenced by the continent, with an average annual temperature of about 9.6 °C, around 500 millimetres of annual precipitation and approximately 1,686 hours of sunshine. River valleys create, locally, warmer microclimates.
Soils and vineyard sites
The vineyards between Jena and Camburg are mostly planted on weathered Muschelkalk soils. Depending on the proportion of loess, they are dry to moderately moist, very rich in lime and in part stony. In Dornburg-Camburg, the individual sites Schlossberg and Ermtal are assigned to the Thuringian part of the growing area Saale-Unstrut. The Dornburg Schlossberg covers 0.2360 hectares of planted vineyard area, and the Dorndorf Ermtal 0.0900 hectares.
Grape varieties and wine styles
In the protected designation of origin area, among others Riesling, White Burgundy, Müller-Thurgau, Green Silvaner, Bacchus, Grauburgunder, Spätburgunder, Dornfelder, Regent, Blauer Zweigelt and Blauer Portugieser are permitted. White wines range from elegant and fruity to powerful, red wines from light to powerful. Kabinett wines are characterised by moderate alcohol, lively freshness and a pronounced character of the variety.
