Location and landscape
Lauffen am Neckar lies in the Neckar valley between Heilbronn and Stuttgart, at the confluence of the Zaber and the Neckar. The town belongs to the Neckar Basin, a part of the south-west German layered escarpment landscape, and lies in Württemberg.
Climate and vineyards
The particularly mild or warm climate favours viticulture. The wine-growing landscape includes sunny sites and terraced steep slopes along the Neckar. Geologically, the vineyard slopes are linked with Muschelkalk; locally, Keuper marl or loess occur above this. The Katzenbeisser lies on a sun-exposed bend of the Neckar and has heat-storing Muschelkalk and Keuper soils.
Viticulture and grape varieties
Around Lauffen am Neckar, viticulture is carried out on more than 600 hectares. The town is described as Württemberg’s largest steepslope wine-growing community. More than 90 percent of the grapes grown are accounted for by red wine varieties. Schwarzriesling is the characteristic local grape variety and takes up about 65 percent of the stated vineyard area. Other documented varieties include Samtrot, Trollinger, Riesling and Kerner.
History and development
Viticulture in Lauffen am Neckar has been documented at least since Roman times; in the vineyards between Lauffen and Neckarwestheim, a Roman country estate has been excavated. The present-day municipality was formed on 1 April 1914 through the merging of the historically separate town and village of Lauffen. Founded in 1935, the Lauffen winegrowers’ cooperative processes and markets, according to the town, around 95 percent of the wine from Lauffen. A Lauffen winery also documents a long bottle ageing period for sparkling wines, as well as the historical use of Barrique ageing for selected wines.
