Location and landscape
Kiedrich is a winegrowing community in the Rheingau at the foot of the Taunus. The townscape and the vineyards are shaped by steep slopes. The municipality has around 200 hectares of vineyard area and about 770 hectares of woodland. The Taunus protects the vineyards from cold northern influences, while the Rhine reflects sunlight and stores warmth.
Vineyards and soils
The Kiedrich vineyard sites lie on the higher-lying Taunus foothills and, in the vineyard areas of the Robert Weil estate, extend to around 240 metres above sea level. Gräfenberg, Klosterberg and Turmberg are oriented to the south-west and are swept through by Taunus winds. The Kiedrich Gräfenberg lies at about 230 metres, covers around eleven hectares and shows slope inclines of up to 50 per cent, or 30 to 60 per cent.
The soils are mostly made up of stony phyllite and slate-influenced rock with proportions of loess or loess loam. The Kiedrich Klosterberg has medium- to deep-rooted soils made of Devonian banded slate as well as phyllite and sericitic gneiss. The Kiedrich Turmberg is characterised by coarse-grained, stony slate with a high proportion of phyllite; the Kiedrich Wasseros has shallow, stony and gravelly soils.
Grape varieties and wine styles
Gräfenberg is planted with Riesling and classified as VDP.GROSSE LAGE®. At Robert Weil, Klosterberg and Turmberg are considered VDP.ERSTE LAGE®, while Gräfenberg is classified as VDP.GROSSE LAGE®. The estate cultivates 90 hectares exclusively with Riesling.
Gräfenberg stands for fine, elegant Rieslings and wines with noble sweetness. Klosterberg is associated with Rieslings rich in fruit, shaped by acidity, with potential for ripeness. Turmberg produces wines with mineral acidity, while Wasseros produces fine Rieslings with mineral acidity that can already seem harmonious when young.
Historical vineyard sites
Gräfenberg is documented in the Middle Ages as “mons rhingravii”; the name “Grevenberg” appears in deeds from 1258 and 1259. The name Klosterberg goes back to the historic Closterweg between Kloster Eberbach and its mill near Eltville. Turmberg takes its name from the surviving tower of the Scharfenstein castle, built around 1160. As part of the revision of the vineyard registers under the Wine Act of 1971, the historic designation Turmberg was incorporated into Wasseros and, in 2005, reintroduced as a separate vineyard site designation.
