Location and Climate
Veitshöchheim lies on the River Main in Franconia, about 8 kilometres north-west of Würzburg. The weather station records a long-term average temperature of 9.1 °C, 638 millimetres of annual precipitation and around 1,565 hours of sunshine per year. The site is considered to be dry in summer and shows a negative seasonal water balance.
Vineyard Sites and History
The wine-growing area includes the sites Veitshöchheimer Sonnenschein and Veitshöchheimer Wölflein. Together they currently cover about 20 hectares. Viticulture has been documented since 779; in 1830 the vineyard areas within and around Veitshöchheim still extended over around 185 hectares. The name Sonnenschein developed from the former cultivation areas Talsberg and Fachtel, while Wölflein goes back to a local cadastral place name.
Soils and Vineyard Areas
The Veitshöchheimer Sonnenschein is characterised by a west to south-west exposure according to the site profile, an altitude of 180 to 250 metres and slope inclines of 35 to 55 per cent. The soil is given as skeletal Lower Muschelkalk. For the classified area of 7.91 hectares, Spätburgunder is named as the grape variety.
Grape Varieties and Winegrowing
From the Veitshöchheim wine sites, Müller-Thurgau, Riesling, Silvaner, Bacchus, Rotling and Spätburgunder are documented. The examples include Kabinett and quality wines in dry and delicately off-dry forms. At Wölflein, trials were also carried out into vine pruning, frost damage and weed control. A double pruning delayed budburst, and in the vineyards managed organically, mechanical weed control is used without glyphosate.
