Location and Climate
Salzatal is a municipality in the Saalekreis district in Saxony-Anhalt. The Höhnstedt district forms, near the Süßer See, a wine-growing island of the Saale-Unstrut wine-growing region. The landscape lies in the continental inland climate of the Harz rain shadow. For Salzmünde, around 466 millimetres of annual precipitation and an average annual temperature of about 9 °C are given; the wine-growing region reaches an average of around 1,600 sunshine hours per year.
Landscape and Soils
The vineyard sites around Höhnstedt are oriented towards the south and include terraced, steep and locally rocky slopes in the Salzatal valley. The geological subsoil ranges from the Zechstein to the Muschelkalk; in the valley, formations of the Middle and Upper Buntsandstein, as well as the Lower Muschelkalk, come to the surface. The soils include loess-black earths, pararendzinas and rendzinas. As a result of terracing, a Rigosol-pararendzina has formed locally.
Viticulture in Höhnstedt
The southern slopes of Salzatal have traditionally been used for wine and fruit cultivation since the 12th century. Dry-stone walls and terraces shape the historic vineyard infrastructure. The Höhnstedt vineyard area comprises the single sites Kreisberg with 55,6627 hectares, Steineck with 14,8786 hectares and Steiger with 7,3098 hectares. They belong to the large site Höhnstedter Kelterberg in the Mansfelder Seen area of the Saale-Unstrut quality winegrowing region.
Grape Varieties and Wine Cellars
The most important white grape varieties include Müller-Thurgau, Weißburgunder, Grauburgunder, Gutedel, Silvaner, Kerner and Traminer. The red varieties include Dornfelder, Portugieser, Spätburgunder and Blauer Zweigelt. Historic hillside cellars were used after the harvest to press the grapes and for the underground storage of the wine. The oldest documented cellars date from the 18th century, while most were built in the 19th century.
