Location and Municipality
Großrinderfeld is a municipality in Tauberfranken in the north-east of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The municipal area lies between Tauberbischofsheim and Würzburg on both sides of the A81 motorway. The municipality comprises Großrinderfeld, Gerchsheim, Schönfeld and Ilmspan; in its present form it came into being in 1975 as a result of the municipal reform.
Landscape and Climate
The municipality lies on the Großrinderfelder plateau, a Muschelkalk (shell limestone) plateau about 320 metres high, broken up by shallow hollows. The town of Großrinderfeld is situated on the eastern edge of the Rödersteingraben and extends into a hollow that rises gently towards the west. For the area, a mean annual air temperature of about 9 to 10 °C and an annual precipitation of roughly 600 millimetres are given.
Soils and Geology
In the municipal area, rocks of the Muschelkalk and the Lettenkeuper meet; locally, they are overlain by loess loam. In the Muschelkalk hills near Großrinderfeld-Gerchsheim, among other things Pelosol, Terra fusca, Pararendzina and Rendzina occur from slope deposits and limestone.
Viticulture
The small wine-growing area Beilberg lies on the border between Großrinderfeld and Werbach. Beilberg is designated as an Einzelage (single vineyard site) in the Tauberfranken area of the Baden quality winegrowing region and is assigned to the Großlage Tauberklinge. Historical references to the former winegrowing in Großrinderfeld can also be found in the design of local wayside shrines and path monuments. The municipality belongs to the wine-growing region Baden.
