Location and landscape
Selzen is an Ortsgemeinde (local municipality) in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate and belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Rhein-Selz. The village is located on the Selz river in Rheinhessen, set within a gently hilly landscape and shaped by winegrowing.
Climate and soils
Rheinhessen is considered a sheltered, warm and dry winegrowing region with around 1,600 hours of sunshine, roughly 240 growing days, average annual temperatures of between 8.6 and 10.6 °C and annual rainfall of between 470 and 730 millimetres. The soils of the vineyards range from calcareous loams and sands to deep, strongly calcareous clay soils.
Vineyard sites and wine style
The winegrowing sites belonging to Selzen are Gottesgarten, Osterberg and Rheinpforte. The Osterberg is characterised by heavy loess-clay and loam marls soils, which require deep rooting; Riesling is considered particularly suitable there. The Gottesgarten is associated with dense, full-bodied wines with balanced acidity, while the Rheinpforte produces full-bodied, rich wines with moderate acidity and a creamy texture.
History and winegrowing
Selzen was first mentioned in the year 782 and referred to as an old winegrowing place. The Osterberg is documented in the 12th century as “im Osterberg” and in 1436 as “in dem Osterberg”. The aforementioned vineyard sites belong to the Nierstein area and to the Grosslage Gutes Domtal. The municipality also operates a permanent vineyard protection measure against animal pests and fungal diseases.
