Location and climate
Glottertal is a municipality on the western edge of the Black Forest, where the Breisgau meets the High Black Forest. Freiburg is about 14 kilometres away. The place belongs to the wine-growing region Baden and to the Breisgau wine-growing area. Winegrowing benefits from around 2,000 hours of sunshine and about 1,000 millimetres of rainfall per year. Warm air from the Upper Rhine plain creates valley floor thermal updrafts, while cool evening downslope winds from the Black Forest help keep the vines drier and influence the freshness of the wines.
Steep vineyards and soils
The vineyards are on slopes facing south and south-west at the foot of the Kandel massif and extend up to around 500 metres above sea level. The vines grow in weathered granite gneiss soils. In the Eichberg, there are deep, humus-rich soils with mineral-rich granite gneiss weathering material. The Rote Bur is a steep section within the larger Eichberg area; its slopes reach up to 70 degrees.
Winegrowing and grape varieties
In Glottertal, around 68 hectares of vineyard area are farmed by more than 100 winegrowing families. Because of the steep sites, about 90 per cent of the work is carried out by hand. In the Rote Bur, Blue Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder), Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris (Grauburgunder) are documented. The local range of varieties also includes Müller-Thurgau, Riesling, Rivaner and Chardonnay.
History and wine styles
The earliest documented mention of winegrowing in Glottertal dates from 1585 and refers to vines at Schloss Winterbach. From the late 18th century onwards, winegrowing was revived; around 1820, farmers from Ohrensbach cleared areas of land and forest on the Eichberg for vine cultivation. Also around 1820, August Ganter from the Roter Bur estate planted Spätburgunder on a south-facing slope. The name Roter Bur was used after the site passed to the local cooperative in 1958. A Glottertal speciality is Spätburgunder Weißherbst. From the Eichberg, among other wines, there are Chardonnay Kabinett gently off-dry and Ruländer Spätlese; in addition, red, white and rosé wines, as well as sparkling wine (Sekt), are produced.
