Location and landscape
Fuchsstadt is a municipality in the administrative district of Lower Franconia (Regierungsbezirk Unterfranken) and in the Bad Kissingen district (Landkreis) in Bavaria. It belongs to the Elfershausen administrative community and lies in the valley of the Franconian Saale in the wine-growing area of Frankens Saalestück.
Geology and relief
To the south-west of Fuchsstadt, the landscape is characterised by locally hilly slopes with limestone quarries laid out on several levels. The Lower Muschelkalk documented there includes marl chalk (Schaumkalk) and Terebratel beds.
Viticulture
The vineyard site Rubenhö l l is officially designated in Fuchsstadt within the area of Frankens Saalestück and in the Großlage Burg (Hammelburg). It is one of the important sites of the region, whose Muschelkalk-influenced soils and sun-exposed slopes characterise winegrowing.
In Frankens Saalestück, white wines predominate, especially Silvaner, Müller-Thurgau and Riesling. Weißburgunder and Grauburgunder are also grown; among the red varieties, Domina, Frühburgunder and Spätburgunder are represented. Red wines account for about 20 per cent of the stated vineyard area. A description from 1956 reports that the historic vineyard name Rübenhöll belonged to the earlier sites that had been fully planted; after around 95 per cent of Fuchsstadt’s vineyards had been abandoned, replanting had begun in the previous decade.
