Württemberg

Württemberg is a German wine-growing region to the east of the Rhine and Baden. It stretches from the Tauber valley to the foothills of the Swabian Jura. The vineyards are concentrated mainly along the Neckar as well as in the valleys of the Enz, Rems, Kocher, Jagst and Tauber. Wine-growing is also carried out on the shores of Lake Constance.

Mild temperatures, protection provided by the Black Forest and the Swabian Jura, as well as the balancing effect of the river valleys shape the climate. A considerable proportion of the vineyards are on steep slopes. The soils include shell limestone (muschelkalk), Keuper, marl (mergel), loess and clay. The Württemberg Unterland in the middle Neckar area is regarded as a core region; to the south of it lies Remstal-Stuttgart.

In 2025, the vineyard area covered 10,694 hectares, with 210 recorded individual sites. Red grape varieties accounted for 63 percent of the plantings; important varieties are Trollinger, Lemberger, Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder) and Schwarzriesling. Red wine cultivation occupied 6,721 hectares. Riesling is the most significant white grape variety, complemented by Müller-Thurgau and Kerner. A speciality of Württemberg is Schiller wine, which is made by blending red and white grapes.

Many Württemberg wine-growing businesses cultivate small vineyard plots and traditionally deliver their harvest to the nearest winemakers’ cooperative. More than 50 winemakers’ cooperatives operate in the region; they market around 80 percent of the wines. Between Lauffen am Neckar and Ingersheim, a state-supported project investigates international and newly bred grape varieties in terraced steep-slope viticulture. Württemberg is registered as a protected designation of origin for wine. The designation Schiller wine is limited to grapes from the specified wine-growing area Württemberg; “steep slope” (Steillage) or “steep-slope wine” (Steillagenwein) requires a hillside with at least 30 percent gradient.