Location and Character
The Jesuitenberg is a small wine-growing site in Wawern on the Saar and belongs to the Mosel wine-growing region Mosel. The official wine-growing site designation is entered in the wine-growing sites register for the municipality of Wawern.
Exposure and Climate
The documented vineyard area is south-facing and has a slope of about 45 percent. The site is considered dry and warm; the upper slope area is particularly warm in the afternoon, while the lower slope is cooler. For the Wawern area, around 600 to 800 millimetres of rainfall are given annually.
Soil and History
At the Jesuitenberg, iron-bearing, clayey slate and quartzite occur. The rocks originated from marine sediments deposited about 380 to 420 million years ago. A dry-stone wall, built more than a hundred years ago and made predominantly from slate rubble, limits the vineyard uphill; agriculturally used land adjoins the lower slope.
Cultivation and Wine Style
The organically working winery Dr. Frey cultivates the Jesuitenberg as its own monopole site. A large part of the south-facing area was replanted in 2008. For a documented Riesling parcel covering 0.3 hectares, SO4 rootstocks, wire training along the slope, and a row spacing of two metres and an in-row spacing of one metre are given. The measures described include mulching, hoeing between the vine rows, organic fertilisation and plant protection with copper-based preparations.
The Riesling from the Jesuitenberg is made dry, off-dry and presented as a fruit-sweet late harvest. In addition, the winery offers Pétillant-Naturel wines from the site, matured on lees, unfiltered and without added sulphur dioxide.
