Location and natural landscape
Schwaigern is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg. It lies in the Leintal valley at the foot of the Heuchelberg and includes parts of the natural regions of Kraichgau and Stromberg-Heuchelberg. Its wooded Keuper heights are accompanied on south-facing slopes by vineyards exposed to the sun.
Viticulture and soils
The vineyard areas are located mainly on slopes oriented to the south and south-west. A municipal environmental assessment classifies the growing climate as warm and suitable hillside sites for viticulture. In the wider town area, soils covered with loess and shell limestone occur in the Kraichgau, as well as Keuper and reed sandstone on the Heuchelberg.
Schwaigern belongs to the protected designation of origin Württemberg and to the Großlage of Heuchelberg. The legally defined site Sonnenberg includes, among other places, Schwaigern and Gemmingen. Viticulture is an established branch of the economy; the Heuchelberg Weingärtner cooperative is based in the town.
Sites and grape varieties
The main grape varieties named by the town include Trollinger, Riesling, Lemberger and Schwarzriesling. In the site Ruthe Riesling, Lemberger and Spätburgunder are documented. The partly terraced, south-facing site lies at an altitude of 246 to 307 metres and has a slope gradient of 20 to 40 per cent. The Siegelsberg above it protects it from cold north and west winds; its Keuper soils contain coloured marl in the upper slope area.
For Grafenberg, dry and semi-dry wines made from Trollinger with Lemberger are documented, as well as a sweet Lemberger with Acolon.
History of viticulture
Viticulture in Schwaigern is historically documented. In the past, both a municipal and a manorial wine-pressing house were used for processing the grapes. The site Ruthe was first mentioned in 1385; its name refers to the clearing of the slope together with Schlossberg. In Schwaigern, wines are also matured for generations in barrel cellars with casks made from native oak.
