Location
Schonungen is a municipality in the district of Schweinfurt in Lower Franconia, Bavaria, about five kilometres east of Schweinfurt on the River Main. The historic centre lies in the extended Steinach valley near the mouth of the Steinach into the Main and belongs to the wine-growing region Franconia.
Vineyards and geology
The community’s vineyards are on steep slopes facing south towards the Main. The Schloßberg is assigned to the Mainberg district, which lies between the Main and steep slopes. As geological materials of the Mainberg Schloßberg, shell limestone and Keuper are documented.
History of wine-growing
Mainberg was first mentioned in 1245 in connection with the Counts of Wildberg. A wine-growing map made around 1570 by Christoph Heinrich von Erthal shows vineyards along the Main slope between Schweinfurt and Mainberg. In the years 1960 and 1961, it was checked whether profitable wine-growing would be possible at the Mainberg Schlossberg.
Grape varieties and maturation
From the Mainberg Schloßberg, dry white wines made from Silvaner are documented as Kabinett and Spätlese; in addition, Riesling, Weißburgunder and Bacchus are mentioned. The 2023 Spätlese was produced from selectively hand-harvested grapes, fermented under cool control in stainless-steel tanks and matured on the full lees with bâtonnage. The Silvaner Kabinett of the same vintage was fermented under controlled conditions in stainless-steel tanks and kept on the full lees until bottling.
