Engelstadt

Engelstadt is a rural municipality in Rheinhessen and lies in the hilly landscape of Rheinhessen. The vineyards are located in a side valley of the Selz. The municipality also includes vineyard slopes and a high plateau shaped by agriculture. According to the local farmers’ association, the valley location provides a mild climate.

Winegrowing is focused on the single sites Adelpfad and Römerberg. Both are assigned to the Großlage Kaiserpfalz in the wine-growing region of Bingen. In the vineyard register for the 2024 harvest, Adelpfad is listed under code 710303 with 109.1 hectares of vines planted, and Römerberg with 44.3 hectares under code 710304.

Adelpfad lies at an altitude of 180 to 230 metres and is oriented north-north-west. Its soils include marl and Pelosol from clayey tertiary marine deposits that are rich in limestone, as well as limestone and Rendzina from tertiary limestone-bearing deposits of an ancient coral reef. A meadow ditch runs through the site; on one side the Selz borders.

Römerberg extends from 160 to 240 metres and has a south-easterly exposure. Here, loess and Pararendzina from limestone-containing deposits of ice-age dust, as well as limestone and Rendzina, are found.

In Engelstadt, among other varieties, Dornfelder, Portugieser, Spätburgunder, Riesling, Silvaner and Müller-Thurgau are grown. White wine varieties predominate, while the proportion of red wine is traditionally described as above average. Adelpfad is particularly associated with Müller-Thurgau and Riesling; the wines are described as full-bodied or dense. For Römerberg, fruit-forward, refreshing wines from loess and Pararendzina, as well as mineral, chalky wines from limestone and Rendzina, are described.

Engelstadt was first mentioned in documentary records on 23 November 941. Adelpfad is documented for the year 1370 under a historical name. The name Römerberg refers to Roman archaeological finds; a Roman settlement is also evidenced in the further surrounding area of Engelstadt.