Location and landscape
Gailingen am Hochrhein is a municipality in the district of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg and lies on the Upper Rhine at the German–Swiss border. The municipality is described as having mild climatic conditions. Its landscape slopes southwards towards the Hochrhein valley and includes terraces from the Riss and Würm periods.
Winegrowing in Gailingen
The vineyards are on south-facing slopes above the Upper Rhine. Gailingen has around 25 hectares of vineyard area and four winegrowing businesses. The local vineyard sites include the Ritterhalde and Schloß Rheinburg.
The vineyard sites
The Ritterhalde lies directly on the Upper Rhine on gravelly soil that warms up slightly and is associated with Spätburgunder. The wines from this site are described as fruit-forward and light. Schloß Rheinburg is oriented to the south; the slopes reach gradients of up to 50 per cent and have poor, gravelly-sandy soils. There are old vines there, including Weißer Burgunder with plantings from 1987.
History and grape varieties
The name Ritterhalde refers to a former knight’s castle that once guarded the Rhine bridge. Vineyards in the Ritterhalde are documented in archives for the years 1566, 1619 and 1761. In Gailingen, Müller-Thurgau, Rivaner, Weißer Burgunder, Grauer Burgunder, Spätburgunder, Cabernet Mitos, Chardonnay and Auxerrois are grown.
