Location and Landscape
Ickelsheim is a district of Bad Windsheim in Bavaria and lies in the Windsheim Bay at the transition to the northern Frankenhöhe. The surrounding area belongs to the region Franconia and is shaped by loess over a subsoil of gypsum Keuper. Between the settlement and the Ickelsheim Forest there are smaller vineyard plots.
Vine Growing on the Schloßberg
On the Schloßberg, there is a historic vineyard site on a sunny steep slope facing south. A traditional stake vineyard with about 1,800 square metres has been maintained since 2014 as part of a conservation project.
Old Franconian Phrase
The vineyard is laid out as an old Franconian phrase, that is to say as a traditional mixed planting rather than a single-variety planting. Documented varieties include, among others, Bacchus, Grüner, Gelber and Blauer Silvaner, Weißer Elbling, Gelber and Roter Muskateller, Weißer Riesling, Roter Traminer, Adelfränkisch, Weißer Lagler, Weißer Heunisch, Müller-Thurgau, Tauberschwarz, Rotholziger Trollinger, Blauer Portugieser and Spätburgunder. Some vines are undetermined. The grapes are harvested on a single day, pressed together and fermented in the same cask.
Tradition and History
The stake vineyard is farmed using traditional wooden stakes instead of a modern wire trellis. Care includes predominantly organic fertilisation with compost and biological plant protection agents; since 2017 fully organic farming has been documented. In the eighth century, Ickelsheim was a Frankish royal court. The Teutonic Order shaped the place from 1294 for more than five centuries before Swedish troops burned down the settlement in 1648. The Schloßberg is also described as a historic vineyard area that has already been documented for the time of Charlemagne.
