Weinheim

Weinheim lies at about 49.5° north latitude and 8.5° east longitude in Baden-Württemberg. The town extends across the Hessian Upper Rhine Plain, the Vorderen Odenwald and the Bergstraße, and belongs to the wine region Baden. The municipal area ranges from about 96 to 525 metres in altitude. The edge of the Rhine rift marks the transition between the Rhine plain and the Odenwald.

Weinheim is situated on the eastern edge of the Lower Rhine low terrace. In the Rhine plain, sandy and gravelly sediments determine the subsoil, while above them lie in places floodplain clay and loess from the Odenwald. Mild winters and warm summers characterise the climate. The Rhine plain and the Bergstraße are warmer than the Odenwald; the annual precipitation amount averages about 500 to 800 millimetres in the plain and is higher in the Odenwald.

The Bergstraße is shaped by viticulture, while in Weinheim gardening and fruit growing also occupy large areas. The uses form a fine-grained landscape mosaic. On the Badish Bergstraße, the mostly small vineyards are located predominantly on gently sloping hillsides oriented towards the south-west at heights between about 120 and 250 metres. The defining grape varieties include Müller-Thurgau, Weißburgunder, Riesling and Spätburgunder. The Odenwald protects the vineyards from cold easterly winds.

Viticulture on the Bergstraße has been documented in writing since the year 746 in connection with the Lorsch monastery. For Weinheim, there are also records of Roman, monastic and later manorial references to the vineyards. Around 1800, the town area at that time comprised about 200 hectares of vineyard area. Historic vineyard areas include the Hubberg, while the Wüstberg was previously a 3.7-hectare vineyard and garden area on the hillside of the Judenbuckel. The Herrnwingert is mapped as a vineyard near Hirschkopf and Sender Weinheim.