Location and municipal area
Pfaffenhofen is located in the Zabergäu within the landscape Württemberg. The municipality comprises Pfaffenhofen and Weiler an der Zaber. The municipal area covers 1,204 hectares, around 70 hectares of which are devoted to vineyard areas.
The Hohenberg
The Pfaffenhofener Hohenberg lies on the Heuchelberg and has slopes predominantly oriented towards the south-east, south and south-west. The elevations are given as approximately 220 to 290 metres above sea level; the slope gradients are between 15 and 60 per cent. A local description names a highest point of roughly 300 metres and gradients of up to 65 per cent. The Hohenberg is described as the warm southern exposure of the Heuchelberg.
Soils and winegrowing
The Hohenberg comprises, as a classified vineyard site in Württemberg, 52 hectares. The subsoil consists of gypsum Keuper and reed sandstone, with gypsum Keuper occurring predominantly in the lower area and reed sandstone in the upper third. For this site, Lemberger, Riesling and Spätburgunder are recorded. The VDP lists the Hohenberg as VDP.ERSTE LAGE®; this is a VDP classification and not a statutory German vineyard classification.
In winegrowing, organic manuring, targeted swarding, low yields, intensive work on the foliage and two to three selective picking passes are documented. Cellar work includes, among other things, gravity-assisted processing. Red wines are traditionally fermented on the skins and are mostly matured in wooden casks. For white wines, whole-cluster pressing or maceration on the skins, gentle pressing, spontaneous fermentation and longer ageing on the lees are used.
History
Pfaffenhofen was first mentioned in a document in 1279. In the late 13th century, the settlement was under the rule of Magenheim and Neuffen, came partly under Württemberg rule in 1321 and fully from 1380.
