Location and classification
Kaiser Wilhelm is a registered vineyard site in Winterhausen in Franconia. The largest contiguous part lies to the south-west of the town on the heights above the River Main between Ludwigshöhe and Scheinsberg. Further parcels are located at Häuserberg, Holzweinberg and Lerchenbühl.
Relief and soils
The main area has a south to south-east orientation and lies on elevated ground above the Main valley. The soils are described as calcareous with a loamy-clayey top layer; parts of the vineyard are very loamy.
Area and cultivation
Kaiser Wilhelm covers around 16 hectares and is the only officially named vineyard site in Winterhausen. It is cultivated by wineries from Winterhausen and the neighbouring Sommerhausen. For its Winterhausen vineyards associated with Kaiser Wilhelm, the winery Meyer Müller-Thurgau, Bacchus, Silvaner, Kerner, Domina, Acolon and Schwarzriesling.
Name and wine-law classification
The name refers to the German Emperor Wilhelm I. Kaiser-Wilhelmshöh and Wilhelmshöh are also in common use; the official cadastral name of the hill is Ludwigshöhe. A replanting of twelve hectares completed in 1983 received the name Kaiser Wilhelm because it bordered the landscape conservation area Wilhelmshöhe. The site is assigned as a single-vineyard site to the MainSüden area and the Großlage Ölspiel. The documented replanting is bordered on both sides by forest and is protected on its north side by a windbreak planting.
