Location and Landscape
Wendelsheim is an Ortsgemeinde in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate and belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Wöllstein. The municipality covers 12.56 km² and lies in the wine-growing region Rheinhessen.
Water-rich stream valleys shape the landscape. Their source areas are located on the foothills of the North Palatine Uplands; the Finkenbach previously supplied mills within the municipality.
Climate and Vineyards
The wine-growing region is warm, comparatively dry and sunny. For Rheinhessen, an average of about 530 millimetres of annual precipitation, around 1,970 hours of sunshine and a growing season of approximately 280 days are given.
The Wendelsheimer Heiligenpfad and the Wendelsheimer Steigerberg are registered as single vineyards in the area of Bingen and within the Großlage of Adelberg in the cadastral district of Wendelsheim. The name Steigerberg comes from the Middle High German word Steige and refers to the steep ascent of the site.
Soils and Wine Style
In Heiligenpfad there are shallow, stony sandy-clayey loams from dark volcanic lava of the Rotliegend, as well as calcareous, stony clay loams from deposits of the Upper Rotliegend. This results in mineral, fruity wines with lively acidity, a slender structure and ageing potential, as well as herbal, lightly spicy and floral wines with pronounced fruit and long ageing capability.
The Steigerberg has deep, gravel-rich sandy loam from tertiary marine deposits. The wines associated with this are described as accessible early on, fruit-forward, slender and elegant, with lively acidity and notes of citrus fruit or green apple.
History and Wine-Growing Culture
Wendelsheim is documented in the Lorsch Codex; the first mention is dated to the year 766. Another historical tradition records a donation to the Fulda monastery from the year 841. The Heiligenpfad was first mentioned in 1654 under a historical name and is connected with a route to the pilgrimage church in Beller as well as a religious wayside figure.
Two trulli-style wine-growing cottage buildings, erected around 1750, and a neo-Gothic wine-vine tower with a windbreak wall from around 1860 form part of the wine-growing history.
