Location and history
Westheim is a district of Hammelburg in the Bad Kissingen district and lies to the east of the town on the Franconian Saale. The place was first mentioned in a document in 1226 and has belonged to Hammelburg since 1 January 1971.
Vine cultivation on the Franconian Saale
Westheim is documented as a wine-growing area with the sites Westheimer Längberg and Westheimer Altenberg. The Längberg lies on a shell limestone plateau above the Franconian Saale and also includes steep slope areas. The vineyard slopes are predominantly made of shell limestone, partly of loess and clay-rich soils; the valley floors are mainly characterised by weathering products of the Upper Buntsandstein.
Climate and grape varieties
The Hammelburg wine-growing area has a comparatively demanding climate, with frequently a shorter growing season than other Franconian regions. As a result, early-ripening varieties such as Müller-Thurgau and Bacchus have traditionally been of importance.
Development of the vineyard areas
For 1905, around 40 hectares of vineyard area are recorded in the district. In 1956, about 7 hectares were still under cultivation for production, and in 2020 around 4 hectares were under vines. The Peronospora outbreak from 1904 to 1905 destroyed substantial areas of vineyards; some earlier vineyard sites were subsequently converted into arable land, afforested or left to grow wild. Altenberg and Längberg are registered as geographical site names for Hammelburg-Westheim in the Franconian vineyard register.
