Location and landscape
The Ölberg is a vineyard site in Dossenheim on the Badische Bergstraße at the western edge of the Odenwald. It lies on the steep western slope of the Odenwald above the Bergstraße and the Upper Rhine Plain. The vineyards include sunny steep slopes and terraces oriented to the south-west, which are associated with earlier stone quarrying.
Climate and soils
The area south of Heidelberg is influenced by the mild climate of the Upper Rhine Plain. The regional average annual temperature is about 10 to over 11 °C. The soils at the Dossenheimer Ölberg consist of loess with weathered porphyry and granite material. The surroundings belong to the Bergstraße covered in loess and to the geological rhyolite and/or quartz porphyry area of Dossenheim.
Cultivation and grape varieties
Cultivation includes hand work, hand-harvesting and nature-friendly growing; in addition, organic certification is documented under the code DE-ÖKO-22. At the Ölberg, disease-resistant PIWI grape varieties are also grown, including Johanniter, Cabernet Blanc and Muscaris. Other documented grape varieties are Riesling, Chardonnay, Souvignier Gris, Spätburgunder or Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Regent.
Wine styles
The Dossenheimer Ölberg is associated with dry and off-dry wines, as well as Riesling Spätlese and sweet Prädikatswein from Souvignier Gris as Auslese. In addition, only dry wines from Riesling, Grauburgunder, Chardonnay, Spätburgunder and Dornfelder are documented.
