Location and Landscape
Ober-Olm is a municipality in the Verbandsgemeinde of Nieder-Olm in the Mainz-Bingen district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, and lies in the wine region Rheinhessen. The municipal area covers 1,710 hectares and borders several Mainz city districts as well as Klein-Winternheim, Nieder-Olm and Essenheim.
The municipality is located on a south-facing slope towards the valleys of Haibach and Selz. To the north, the terrain opens out towards the Rhine. The highest point is the Galgenbusch at 257.6 metres above sea level.
Viticulture and Terroir
Ober-Olm has about 100 hectares of vineyard land, which is assigned mainly to the Ober-Olmer Kapellenberg in the Großlage of Mainzer Domherr. The largest area lies on the edge of the village towards Essenheim; smaller parts extend to the north-east towards Klein-Winternheim and to the east towards Ebersheim.
At Kapellenberg, clayey marl soils of the Pelosol type and calcareous Rendzina soils occur. The clayey marl is described as calcareous loam from deposits of the Tertiary Sea, while the limestone is a Tertiary marine deposit associated with a limestone reef of calcareous algae. On the marl and Pelosol areas, dense, full-bodied wines with moderate acidity develop, whereas the limestone and Rendzina soils produce lively, aromatic, mineral and chalky wines with well-balanced acidity.
Chapel and Wine Region
Kapellenberg is named after the St. Valentine’s Chapel at the edge of the village. It was first mentioned in 1342; the present building is a late Gothic hall church that was extended in the Baroque period around 1720. In earlier times, the chapel was a place of pilgrimage for the saint Valentin, who was regarded locally as a helper for people suffering from fallsickness.
Kapellenberg is a single vineyard (Einzellage) in the area of Nierstein and part of the Großlage Mainzer Domherr. Rheinhessen is designated as a protected designation of origin. In Ober-Olm there are two wineries; other winegrowers often cultivate the vines as a secondary occupation and supply their grapes for processing and marketing to larger cooperatives.
