Location and History
Obrigheim (Pfalz) is situated in the hilly foothills to the north-east of the Haardt and borders the German Wine Route. The municipality comprises the former villages of Albsheim an der Eis, Colgenstein-Heidesheim, Mühlheim an der Eis and Obrigheim, which were merged in 1969. The oldest documentary mentions date back from 767 for Mühlheim an der Eis to 1287 for Obrigheim.
Farming and Viticulture
Viticulture and arable farming are carried out in all four local districts. Of a total of 1,081 hectares of agricultural land, 220 hectares are planted with vines. In the 2024 directory of vineyard sites, Obrigheim is assigned to the Pfalz, the Mittelhaardt/German Wine Route area, and the Großlage Grafenstück.
Individual Vineyard Sites
The registered individual vineyard sites include Benn, Hochgericht, Mandelpfad, Rosengarten and Schloß. The site Sonnenberg, which extends across municipal boundaries, comprises in the Mühlheim cadastral district within Obrigheim 78.4 hectares of vineyard area and also extends to Bockenheim an der Weinstraße and Kindenheim.
Soils and Wine Designation
The vineyards of the region are located mostly on loess-covered undulating ridges and high plateaus. Their average elevation is about 170 metres above sea level, and the average slope gradient is around 4.5 percent. The winegrowing area lies in the tectonic Upper Rhine Graben and has tertiary sediments, locally Mesozoic rocks as well as Quaternary cover sediments. Obrigheim belongs to the delimited region of the protected designation of origin Pfalz; under this, Qualitätswein, Prädikatswein, Sekt b.A. and Qualitätsperlwein b.A. are permitted.
