Location and landscape
Heppenheim is situated at the entrance of the UNESCO Geo-Nature Park Bergstraße-Odenwald and is the administrative seat of the Bergstraße district in Hesse. The vineyards extend across the slopes at the transition between the Upper Rhine Plain and the western Odenwald. The Steinkopf provides views over the Bergstraße. Heppenheim belongs to the Hessische Bergstraße.
Viticulture and climate
With around 180 hectares of vineyard area, Heppenheim is the largest wine-growing town on the Hessische Bergstraße. Together with Hambach and Erbach, the town forms the Großlage Heppenheimer Schlossberg with about 230 hectares of vineyard area. The climate is described as mild and is protected from cold easterly winds by the Odenwald; the tourism information services cite around 1,600 hours of sunshine. For the period 1991 to 2020, at the Heppenheim measuring station, 692 millimetres of annual precipitation, 429 millimetres of precipitation during the growing season and average temperatures of 11.6 degrees Celsius over the year and 16.5 degrees Celsius during the growing season are given.
Soils, grape varieties and wine styles
In the Schlossberg and Steinkopf vineyard sites, sandstone soils are documented, while in the southern part of the Heppenheimer vineyard area, loess-rich soils occur. Riesling is the leading grape variety of the Hessische Bergstraße, with 35.63 percent of the planted area; in addition, Grauburgunder, Müller-Thurgau, green Silvaner and Spätburgunder are also significant. The sandstone sites are associated with fruity, elegant Rieslings, while the loess-rich soils in the south are associated with full-bodied Spätburgunders. Wines labelled Heppenheimer Eckweg may contain Roter Riesling, while Heppenheimer Maiberg Chardonnay is documented. The wines from the Stemmler site are developed mostly dry.
History and wine trail
According to the town, on the sun-exposed slopes of the Bergstraße, vines were already planted in Roman times, about 2,000 years ago. The remains of a Roman villa rustica north of the town are regarded as evidence of this. Since it was defined in the German Wine Law of 1971, the Hessische Bergstraße has been an independent German quality wine-growing region. The 6.9-kilometre experience trail Wein und Stein provides information about grape varieties, geology, climate, history and viticulture and leads through Heppenheim’s wine-growing sites.
