Location and climate
Lehmen is a municipality on the Lower Moselle, the Terraced Moselle, in Rhineland-Palatinate, and belongs to the Moselle winegrowing region as well as the area of Burg Cochem. The south-facing steep vineyard slopes and the wind-protected Moselle valley shape the local climate, with an average annual temperature of around 10.3 °C and less than 500 mm of annual precipitation.
Steep slopes and winegrowing
The vineyards extend from around 70 metres in the valley floor to about 160 metres in height; the slopes reach up to 70 percent gradient. Terraces, stony schist-quartzite weathering soils and the limited possibility of machine use determine cultivation. On about 23 hectares of vineyard area, roughly 80 percent are planted with white and 20 percent with red grape varieties.
Vineyard sites and grape varieties
The winegrowing sites belonging to Lehmen are Fahrberg, Ausoniußtein, Klosterberg, Würzlay and Lay. Riesling is the predominant grape variety in these five sites. Wines made from Riesling and Müller-Thurgau are also documented; in the Lehmener Klosterberg, Rivaner and Regent are also grown. A local winery reports that it produces mostly dry-fermented wines and wines aged for a longer period on the lees, as well as hand harvesting and pressing the must on its own premises.
History and terrace culture
Lehmen was first mentioned in a document in 865 as Liomena, and the municipality describes it as the oldest winegrowing municipality on the Lower Moselle. In the Lehmener Würzlay, the Razejunge-Wingert cooperative preserves the traditional terrace culture with dry stone walls, vineyard steps and small biotopes.
