Location and winegrowing
Rimbach is a district of the town of Volkach in the district of Kitzingen in Lower Franconia, Bavaria, and lies on the north-eastern edge of the district near the border with the district of Schweinfurt. The areas under winegrowing cover about 10 hectares and belong to the nearby Landsknecht. There is no separate vineyard designation; on the label the name Rimbacher Landsknecht appears, while the responsible site is listed as Obervolkacher Landsknecht.
History and landscape
According to information from the town of Volkach, Rimbach was first mentioned in 906. The winegrowing area lies on a hill that rises by up to about 242 metres. The vineyard Alte Satz is located outside the consolidated main vineyard area in the plot Zum Brücklein and was laid out in 1835.
Der Alte Satz
Der Alte Satz is a preserved historic mixed planting with at least ten older vine varieties and several more recent crosses. These include, among others, White Elbling, Green and Blue Silvaner, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Gutedel, Yellow Muscat, Burgundy vines and Müller-Thurgau. White Elbling makes up more than half of the documented older varieties. The vineyard, which is open and oriented to the south-west, is susceptible to winter and spring frosts; in 1985 there was a larger loss caused by winter frost.
The soil consists mainly of Lettenkeuper with Upper Muschelkalk and is deep, heavy and firm. Around one metre below the surface, layers of stones appear. The local macroclimate is continental with maritime influences, with an average annual temperature of about 9 °C and an annual rainfall of roughly 580 millimetres.
Cultivation and wine
Der Alte Satz was excluded from the local land consolidation measures and was cultivated by at least four generations of the Hufnagel family. The historic training system with three wooden stakes according to the Franconian Kopferziehung was gradually converted to wire training in 1952 and 1970. Extensive soil cultivation, temporary natural green cover, and fertilisation with straw, compost and fertiliser shape the way it is farmed; earlier, manure and pomace were used.
The irregular, bent vines and the stakes set at an angle make mechanical harvesting impossible, therefore the grapes are picked by hand. The wine is matured as a field blend and shows fruity, herbal and floral notes, as well as a mineral character. Historically, it ripened in wooden casks; since 1970, the family has bottled it in bottles.
