Location and climate
Werder an der Havel is a town on the Havel. The historic old town lies on an island, while the municipal area also includes the vineyards in Werder, Phöben and Töplitz. The climate describes the town as mild and sunny; the vineyard sites are located at around the 52nd parallel.
Viticulture in Werder
The four documented vineyards together comprise 11.1 hectares. These include the Werderaner Wachtelberg in the town centre, the Werderaner Galgenberg near the tourist information, the Phöbener Wachtelberg in the district of Phöben and the Neu Töplitzer Alte Weinberg in the district of Töplitz. The Werderaner Wachtelberg is documented as Brandenburg’s largest vineyard with 6.2 hectares. The vineyards are assigned to the quality wine-growing region Saale-Unstrut.
Soils and grape varieties
The vineyard soils in Werder are described as sandy. This produces mild quality wines with low acidity. For the Werderaner Wachtelberg and the Werderaner Galgenberg, Müller-Thurgau, Sauvignon Blanc, Saphira, Kernling, Muscaris, Cabernet Blanc, Regent, Dornfelder and Pinotin are documented. At the Phöbener Wachtelberg, Dornfelder, Regent, Weißburgunder, Merzling, Souvignier gris, Riesel and Trollinger are grown.
History and processing
Viticulture in Werder is associated with Cistercian monks from the surrounding area of Lehnin. For the year 1780, around 95 hectares of vineyard area in Werder are documented. The Werderaner Galgenberg was already planted with vines again in the 16th century after it had been used in the meantime for fruit growing. The Werderaner Wachtelberg was replanted in 1985 and, in 1996, was taken over in a family capacity as a vineyard by Dr. Lindicke. The Galgenberg was replanted in 2012 and is farmed together with the Werderaner wine association and Dr. Lindicke. At the Phöbener Wachtelberg, the Poel family took over the vineyard in 2011 and expanded it to one hectare; the harvest there is carried out largely with support from wine friends and wine patrons. A press operated by several of Werder’s winegrowers processes grapes from three of these sites on location. At the Töplitzer vineyard, the wines are pressed and bottled directly at the Weingut Klosterhof Töplitz and marketed as Brandenburger Landwein.
