Location and landscape
Flein is a municipality in the southern part of the Heilbronn district, immediately south of the city of Heilbronn, in Baden-Württemberg. The municipality covers 8.47 square kilometres; at the town hall it lies 191 metres above sea level. The landscape is characterised by vineyards, woodland and open agricultural land.
Winegrowing in Flein
In Flein, almost 200 hectares of vineyard area are cultivated. The municipality belongs to the winegrowing region Württemberg; the vineyards Altenberg, Eselsberg and Sonnenberg belong to the Großlage Kirchenweinberg in the Württembergisches Unterland. Grapes grown include, among others, Riesling, Schwarzriesling and Samtrot. White and red wines are produced and marketed predominantly through the winegrowing cooperative Flein-Talheim; in addition, there are private wineries.
Flein’s Eselsberg
The Fleiner Eselsberg is documented as a site for Riesling and other grape varieties. Its classified vineyard area comprises 57 hectares. The slopes facing south-west to south-south-east lie at an altitude of around 250 metres and have gradients of 10 to 40 per cent. The soil consists of Keuper with weathering products of sandstone from the Schilfsandstein.
History and reference in the name
Flein was first mentioned in a deed in 1188 in a marriage contract between Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and Alfonso VIII of Castile. Winegrowing and economic activities related to wine are already documented for medieval history and were then connected with ecclesiastical as well as regional feudal patterns of ownership. The name Flein refers to the Nagelfluh rock on the church hill, on which the St.-Veit church stands.
