Location and Landscape
The Altenberg is documented as a vineyard site, the Sülzbacher Altenberg, in Sülzbach, a district of Obersulm. The site belongs to the wine-growing landscape of the Weinsberg Valley in Württemberg and is associated with the area between Sülzbach and Weinsberg.
Relief and Geology
The Altenberg is an elevated vineyard site, which can be reached from Sülzbach via an ascending path described as demanding. From the site, views are possible. In the hill area, Estheria-bearing layers of the gypsum marl of the Grabfeld Formation emerge. In the surrounding area, reed sandstone of the Stuttgart Formation also occurs, and on parts of the lower slopes, loess is present.
Viticulture
The Altenberg is farmed and is counted among the vineyard sites of the Heinrich winery. At the plots looked after there, chickens, sheep, geese and peacocks are documented as part of the vineyard surroundings. For its vineyards, the winery describes cultivation of disease-resistant grape varieties in order to reduce or avoid plant protection treatments, as well as trials with plant homeopathy.
Grape Varieties and Vinification
From Obersulm-Sülzbach, a dry Sülzbacher Altenberg Pinot Noir as a red wine from Württemberg, as well as a Sülzbacher Altenberg Cabernet Sauvignon, are documented. According to the winery, the associated winery works with spontaneous fermentation without selected yeast strains and, in general, with little influence in the cellar. Wine-making there began with the winery’s first own wine in 1999.
