Location and History
Welgesheim is an Ortsgemeinde in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate and belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Sprendlingen-Gensingen. The village is located on a former crossing of the Wiesbach by an old military road. Welgesheim was first mentioned in 770 under its historic name Wellingesheim. During foundation work, graves that were discovered were interpreted by the responsible authority as evidence of a Roman settlement.
A church in Welgesheim is documented in the Lorscher Codex at the latest for the year 1290. It was dedicated to All Saints and initially served as a subsidiary church of the parish of Zotzenheim. The medieval building was replaced in 1784, expanded in 1848 and comprehensively remodelled in the style of Neo-Gothic from 1897 to 1898.
Viticulture and Wine-growing Site
Welgesheim is located in the wine-growing region of Rheinhessen. The municipality’s vineyard areas belong to the single vineyard Welgesheimer Kirchgärtchen and to the large vineyard St. Rochuskapelle. The Kirchgärtchen is designated as an officially delimited single vineyard in the cadastral area of Welgesheim within the Bingen area and the large vineyard St. Rochuskapelle.
The Welgesheimer Kirchgärtchen covers 72 hectares and lies at about 115 to 180 metres above sea level. Its orientation ranges from south-east to north-west. The soil is classified as marl or Pelosol from calcareous clay deposits of the Tertiary Sea. It consists of deep, calcareous clay with a high proportion of spring clay, low permeability and aeration, a high nutrient content, a pronounced lime content, medium heating capacity and difficult conditions for rooting. Various grape varieties are grown on the clay-marl soils.
Climate and Wine Style
The wine-growing region of Rheinhessen has an average annual temperature of about 9.9 °C and an average temperature during the growing season of about 14.6 °C. Each year, around 500 millimetres of precipitation fall, of which around 65 per cent during the growing season. During this time, about 650,000 Wh/m² of direct sunshine exposure is reached.
The terroir description of the Welgesheimer Kirchgärtchen links the wines produced there with full-bodied character, dense texture, moderate acidity, a creamy mouthfeel and pronounced ripeness. Mentioned are fruit notes of mango, apricot, honeydew melon and stone fruits similar to apricot.
