Location and landscape
Obersulm is a municipality in the Sulm valley in the south-east of the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg, and it belongs to the wine region Württemberg. The municipality includes Affaltrach, Eichelberg, Eschenau, Sülzbach, Weiler and Willsbach.
The municipality lies at the foot of the Löwenstein Hills and includes part of the Weinsberg valley. The terrain ranges from around 180 metres on the Sulm to 506.5 metres on the Gräfischen Bergle near Eichelberg. The Sulm is the main river and, among other streams, it takes in the Schlierbach, Michelbach, Seebächle, Sülzbach and Hambach.
Viticulture and climate
Obersulm describes its wine-growing climate as mild. The foot zones of the partly wooded Keuper slopes are used extensively for viticulture; around 372 hectares of vineyard area lie within the municipality.
Documented grape varieties include primarily the red varieties Trollinger, Lemberger and Schwarzriesling, as well as Riesling as the most important white variety. In Obersulm, both red and white wines are produced.
Soils and rocks
The landscape is shaped by rocks of the Middle Keuper, including gypsum Keuper, reed sandstone and Stubensandstein. The visible Triassic rocks reach a thickness of up to around 150 metres.
In the valley floors, among other things, there are ice-age terrace gravels, more recent deposits, loamy soils, river meadow sands, silts and loamy-sandy alluvial fans. Parts of the gypsum Keuper landscape are covered by loess.
History and management
Viticulture in Obersulm has been evidenced since the 12th century by contracts regarding the sale of vineyards. Up to the 1920s, local winegrowers (Wengerter) sold their wines mainly to wine merchants; in the 1930s, their own winegrowers’ cooperatives initially came into being in the individual districts.
Today, viticulture is often carried out as a secondary occupation. Many producers supply their grapes to cooperatives, including the winegrowers from the Weinsberg valley. In addition, private wineries process and market grapes and wines themselves. The present-day municipality was formed on 1 May 1972 through the merger of Affaltrach, Eichelberg, Eschenau, Weiler and Willsbach; Sülzbach joined on 1 January 1975.
