Idig

Idig is a vineyard site classified as a VDP.GROSSE LAGE® in Königsbach in the wine-growing region Pfalz and forms part of the city area of Neustadt an der Weinstraße. The classified area covers 6.53 hectares. The classification as VDP.GROSSE LAGE® is a VDP classification and is to be distinguished from the official German designations of wine.

The vineyard faces south to south-south-east and has a slope of around 20 per cent. The VDP’s technical profile specifies an altitude of 145 to 180 metres above sea level. The Haardt and the Rolandsberg provide protection from cold westerly winds, while descending winds from the Stabenberg have a drying effect on the vines. On long summer days, the sunshine reaches into the evening.

Idig lies on a limestone massif, linked to tertiary limestone deposits following the subsidence of the Upper Rhine Graben. The topsoil is described as Terra fusca made of limestone and clay, with limestone fragments, Buntsandstein rubble and, locally, basalt. The VDP’s technical profile classifies the subsoil as calcareous marl.

For the site, Riesling and Pinot Noir have been documented. The holdings of the estate A. Christmann include 2.8 hectares of Riesling and 0.8 hectares of Pinot Noir. Some of the Riesling vines are old and partly own-rooted; they were planted in 1995 by the estate. The Pinot Noir vines are partly from the year 1977; another section was planted in 2008 with French massale selections.

Idig Riesling is documented as a dry VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS and, according to the site description, develops further elegance through bottle ageing. The Pinot Noir wines from the site require longer maturation in wooden barrels and in the bottle. At the estate A. Christmann, the Riesling is harvested selectively and by hand to 100%, in small crates, fermented spontaneously and matured in large wooden casks.

Idig has been handed down as a former chamber estate of the Electors of the Palatinate and is mentioned in records from the 14th century.