Winegrowing in Leingarten
Leingarten is located in Württemberg and has around 100 hectares of vineyard area. Winegrowing in the region has been documented up to about the year 800. Around 90 percent of the areas were consolidated; the central land consolidation project took place from 1967 to 1971.
Sites and soils
The most important vineyards are on steep slopes facing south, with inclines of 20 to 50 percent. Geologically, the soils are assigned to Keuper and have a heavy, calcareous Keuper subsoil. The Grafenberg and the Leiersberg are among the documented sites. On the Leiersberg there are vines that are older than 50 years; the rows run westwards and receive the full south sun in autumn.
Grape varieties and wine styles
The most important grape varieties include Trollinger, Schwarzriesling, Riesling, Spätburgunder and Lemberger. Around 60 percent of the vineyard area is planted with red grape varieties and 40 percent with white grape varieties. About 80 percent of the wines are produced dry or semi-dry.
Maturation and wine law
Documented practices include hand harvesting with systematic selection, cool fermentation, yeast ageing storage, and prolonged maturation in wooden casks. For selected red wines, local oak wood is used. Under German wine law, the terms Steillage and Steillagenwein may only be used if the grapes come exclusively from parcels with at least 30 percent slope inclination. In 1971, the local winemakers’ cooperative merged with a cooperative cellar.
