Location and landscape
Neckarwestheim is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg and lies in the wine-growing region Württemberg between vineyards and the Neckar. The municipality covers 1,398 hectares; the town centre is at an altitude of 254 metres. In the vineyard sites close to the Neckar, the summer climate is described as being influenced in a Mediterranean way. The wine landscape includes old Muschelkalk terraces.
Winegrowing on the Herrlesberg
The vineyards stretch from the Schlossberg to the Herrlesberg. The wine-growing area Herrlesberg lies above the Neckar and includes steep slopes with views into the Neckar valley. Locally documented grape varieties include Schwarzriesling, Lemberger and Trollinger; Schwarzriesling is the leading variety. The wines produced from these are described as having fruit, fullness and elegance.
History of winegrowing
Neckarwestheim was first mentioned in documents on 5 March 1123 as Westheim. In 1884, the town was renamed from Kaltenwesten to Neckarwestheim by royal decree, partly to improve the marketing of the local wine. A regional wine programme documents the development of winegrowing and the former working methods of the vineyard workers on the Herrlesberg.
Development of the wine industry
The local winegrowers gave up operating their own cellars at the end of the 1960s. In 2011, the Neckarwestheim winegrowers’ cooperative joined the Felsengartenkellerei Besigheim. In the Herrlesberg, in recent times individual vineyard parcels had fallen into disuse, which, according to municipal planning, can lead to maintenance problems and possible disease pressure on neighbouring areas.
