Location and landscape
Wintersheim is a municipality in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate and lies about halfway between Mainz and Worms. The municipality belongs to the wine-growing region Rheinhessen. Its roughly 365-hectare area is traditionally shaped by agriculture and vineyards. Gently rolling slopes and vineyard sites on the surrounding elevations determine the landscape.
Climate and soils
Rheinhessen is characterised by a warm, dry wine-growing climate with low average rainfall and a long duration of sunshine. Regional climate data give around 530 millimetres of annual precipitation, a mean annual temperature of 11.1 degrees Celsius and a growing season of about 280 days.
The site Wintersheimer Fraugarten is shaped by deep, fertile, calcareous loam with a clayey silt content. The soil has good water storage capacity available to plants, sufficient aeration and good root penetration.
Winegrowing in Wintersheim
Winegrowing in Wintersheim has been documented since the 8th century. A donation from the year 766 to the Abbey of Lorsch included a vineyard with a yield capacity of four Ohm of wine; over the following 40 years, 17 more vineyard donations were added.
The Wintersheimer Fraugarten is designated as an official single site within the wine-growing area of Rheinhessen, in the Nierstein and Großlage Krötenbrunnen division. The name refers to areas that previously belonged to a nuns’ foundation, the Liebfrauenstift. The wine profile there is associated with aromas of yellow fruits, apple, peach, pear and citrus. The wines are relatively slender and refreshing, with gentle acidity, medium structure and early drinkability.
