Location and wine-growing area
Lauda-Königshofen is in the Main-Tauber district in Baden-Württemberg, in the middle Tauber valley between Tauberbischofsheim and Bad Mergentheim. The municipality belongs to the Tauberfranken wine-growing area, a part of the wine-growing region Baden. Its vineyards stretch along the gentle slopes of the Tauber valley.
Vineyards and natural conditions
Among the nine municipally designated wine sites is the Gerlachsheimer Herrenberg, with steep slopes oriented from south to south-west and Muschelkalk (shell limestone) soil. The Tauberfranken sites near Beckstein also have Muschelkalk, which stores the sun’s warmth. Hot summer days and cool nights shape the conditions; low rainfall and the risk of frost present natural challenges for viticulture.
Grape varieties and wine style
In Lauda-Königshofen, among others, Müller-Thurgau, Schwarzriesling, Kerner, Bacchus, Silvaner, Grauer and Weißer Burgunder, Riesling, Chardonnay, Hölder, Scheurebe, Souvignier Gris, Spätburgunder, Zweigelt, Regent and Tauberschwarz are documented. Müller-Thurgau and Schwarzriesling are particularly well represented. The combination of warm days and cool nights is linked with freshness in the wines; Tauberschwarz is considered a light red grape variety of the Tauber valley.
Wine-growing tradition
The Tauber valley has a wine-growing tradition of more than 1,000 years. In Lauda, in 1928, a state-owned teaching and experimental estate was established to promote and revive wine-growing in the Tauber and Schüpfer grounds. The Beckstein wine-growers’ cooperative was founded in 1894 by 18 local wine-growers.
