Ensheim

Ensheim is a winegrowing municipality in Rheinhessen. In the district lies the vineyard site Kachelberg, a rounded hill with vineyards at roughly 150 to 250 metres above sea level. The exposures range from south-east to south-west.

From Kachelberg, the view extends over southern Rheinhessen to the Odenwald and the Palatinate Forest. The site was first mentioned in 1442 as “in kachelberge”. Kachelberg is classified as a single vineyard within the large vineyard site Adelberg in the Bingen area.

At Kachelberg, calcareous Rendzina and marl Pelosol soils occur. The Rendzinas are shallow to medium-deep, stony and well aerated, but they store only a small amount of plant-available water. The deep Pelosols are rich in nutrients, but show limited water supply, aeration and rooting depth.

On the Rendzinas, wines are produced with balanced acidity, mineral-calcareous impressions and aromas of citrus fruits, apple, gooseberry, mango and passion fruit. The wines from the marl Pelosols are associated with a full-bodied structure, dense texture, moderate acidity and a creamy finish, as well as ripe aromas of mango, apricot and honeydew melon.

Ensheim has been documented since 769, when a local landowner presented the monastery of Lorsch with a vineyard in the place known as Aoenisheim. The Rheinhessen wine-growing region, to which Ensheim belongs, has an average annual temperature of around 9.9 °C, an average temperature during the growing season of around 14.6 °C and roughly 550 millimetres of annual precipitation.