Location and history
Hessigheim is located in Württemberg on the Neckar, near the confluence of the Neckar and Enz valleys. The municipality was first mentioned in a document on 25 August 774.
Rock gardens and geology
The Hessigheimer Felsengärten lie on the upper right-hand slope of the Neckar valley. They include an approximately 300-metre-long rock face. The rock formations consist of rocks of the Meißner Formation in the Upper Muschelkalk. The landscape was formed by the leaching of sulphur-containing layers in the Middle Muschelkalk, as well as by detachment, rockfalls, landslides and the tilting of overlying limestone blocks.
Terraced winegrowing on the Neckar
Along the Neckar, terraced steep slopes shape the winegrowing region. The Wurmberg lies below the rock gardens and is formed as a terraced vineyard at the foot of the rocks. The south-facing steep hillsides offer climatically favourable conditions for winegrowing. At the Wurmberg, Trollinger, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon are documented; in vineyards around Hessigheim, Riesling, Lemberger and Spätburgunder are also grown.
Farming and cellar history
A Hessigheim winery has been farming its vines since 2016 as a Bioland-certified organic farm according to ecological guidelines. Riesling, Lemberger and Spätburgunder are harvested there exclusively by hand; the vines are up to 50 years old. In addition, very low yields and fermentation using winery-yeast are stated. The Felsengartenkellerei Besigheim was formed in 1972 through the merger of the Besigheimer and Hessigheimer winegrowers’ cooperatives; its cellar building at the foot of the rock gardens was completed in 1976.
