Location and municipality
Rohrbach is a local municipality in the district of Südliche Weinstraße and belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde Herxheim in Rhineland-Palatinate. The village is located in the wine-growing region Südliche Weinstraße and is assigned to the Pfalz. In the local history, Rohrbach is first recorded in the year 693.
Landscape and climate
The Mandelpfad lies on the plain of Südliche Weinstraße; the documented vineyard path shows no significant inclines. For the region, sunny south-westerly weather conditions, long warm summers and increasing sunshine duration are described. On average over the long term, the climate has around 1,750 hours of sunshine; from April to October, about 430 millimetres of precipitation fall, with summer water deficits being relevant for wine-growing.
Soils and vineyard sites
At the Rohrbach Mandelpfad, stony sandy and loess clay soils occur. The soils around the Mandelpfad are also described as sandy loess and loess clay with good water-retention capacity and a high nutrient content. The Mandelpfad is a registered single vineyard site of the Großlage Kloster Liebfrauenberg and, according to the 2024 vineyard area register, comprises 149.4 hectares of planted vine area in Rohrbach. The Schäfergarten belongs, as a single vineyard site, to the Großlage Herrlich and comprises 19.9 hectares in Rohrbach.
Grape varieties and cultivation
In Rohrbach, among others, Dornfelder, Spätburgunder, Grauburgunder and Riesling are grown. Further documented varieties are Silvaner, Müller-Thurgau, Weißburgunder, Dunkelfelder, Regent, Merlot and Chardonnay. Dornfelder is documented at the Mandelpfad, where it is described there as a warmer site with more sandy soils. Ecological winegrowing is also documented in the Mandelpfad through the Neuspergerhof, certified by Bioland. Work in the vineyard is carried out to a large extent by hand; for other cultivation steps, machines and newer methods are used. Local businesses produce wine, grower’s sparkling wine and secco.
