Zornheim

Zornheim is a municipality in the wine-growing region Rheinhessen. The town lies at about 214 metres above sea level on the broad ridge of the Zornheimer Berg, which separates it from the Selz valley. The settlement opens to the east and south. Of the municipality’s total area of 558 hectares, around 150 hectares are planted with vines.

Viticulture in the cadastral area has been documented since 771, when two vineyards were donated to the Benedictine monastery of Fulda. In connection with German wine-site legislation, the numerous former field names were reduced to five designations in the early 1970s: Pilgerweg, Dachgewann, Mönchbäumchen, Guldenmorgen and Vogelsang. The Zornheim wine sites belong to the area of Nierstein and to the Großlage Gutes Domtal.

The vineyard sites are characterised by calcareous soils. Dachgewann has deep calcareous marl clay as a Mergel-Pelosol, while Pilgerweg includes both loess and pararendzina with deep, fertile loam as well as marl pararendzina. Guldenmorgen and Mönchbäumchen have calcareous marl or Pelosol soils formed from deposits of the Tertiary sea. Vogelsang lies on shallow to medium-depth, very calcareous stony sand-loam of the types limestone and rendzina. The 26-hectare site extends at roughly 190 to 230 metres above sea level and is oriented to the south to south-west.

For Guldenmorgen, Riesling, Weißburgunder, Chardonnay and Huxelrebe are documented; for Vogelsang, Spätburgunder. The wines from Guldenmorgen are described as dense, full-bodied and expressive, with balanced acidity; mentioned include, among other things, aromas of mango, honeydew melon and apricot, and in the case of red wines, dark fruit and smoky-spicy notes. Mönchbäumchen stands for full-bodied, dense and rich wines with ripe fruit aromas. Pilgerweg produces fine-fruited, rather light and refreshing wines on loess soils, whereas on marl soils it produces denser, more full-bodied wines. The wines from Vogelsang are described as aromatic and mineral, with balanced acidity.