Location and climate
Offenburg lies between the Upper Rhine Plain and the Black Forest. The vineyards are concentrated above all on the hilly foothills of the Black Forest and shape the landscape. The town area ranges from 142 metres above sea level in Windschläg to 690 metres at the Brandeckkopf.
In the climate average for the years 1991 to 2020, the mean annual temperature was 11.69 °C, and the mean annual precipitation was about 890 millimetres. Temperatures are influenced by the Upper Rhine Plain, southern air currents and warm autumn winds from the Vosges; the Black Forest increases rainfall through orographic lifting.
Soils and winegrowing history
In the vineyards of Offenburg’s district of Rammersweier, deep-rooting loam and loess soils occur, as well as soils formed from weathered granite. The Zeller Abtsberg is associated with steep soils that have arisen from granite weathering.
In Rammersweier, winegrowing has been documented since at least 1242; in Zell-Weierbach there is a documented tradition of more than 750 years. The citizens of Offenburg grew vines, at the latest in the 16th century, on a modest scale.
Grape varieties and wine styles
Offenburg belongs to the Ortenau in the wine region Baden. The most important grape varieties of the Ortenau are Spätburgunder and Riesling, which is also locally called Klingelberger. In the Zeller Abtsberg area, white Burgunder varieties are also documented; Viognier was introduced there from the 2005 vintage.
The Kirchherrenberg in Fessenbach is designated as a site for the production of red wine.
Farming practices and wine law
The cultivation of the Rammersweier slopes and steep sites is described as nature- and quality-oriented. Gentle processing of the grapes is among the cellar practices documented there. Baden is Germany’s only winegrowing region in EU wine zone B; there, higher basic requirements apply for grape quality and processing than in winegrowing zones assessed as less favourable.
