Location and Classification
Orlenberg is an officially registered single vineyard site in the municipality and cadastral district of Bißersheim in the Palatinate. The site falls within the Mittelhaardt/Deutsche Weinstraße area and the Großlage Schwarzerde. In the vineyard register, it is listed under number 821703.
Site and Cultivation
The Orlenberg in Bißersheim lies on a slope facing south. The soils are described as rich in limestone, or as limestone soils. For the Bißersheim plots, including Orlenberg, documentation is also available showing cultivation that is oriented towards nature and carried out sustainably. The vineyard area registered in 2024 is 27.2 hectares.
Grape Varieties and Wine Styles
Under the name Bissersheimer Orlenberg, wines from Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Chardonnay are documented. A Riesling-Gewürztraminer is described as sweet, a Chardonnay as dry and matured in a 500-litre tonneau. From limestone parcels there is also Petit Manseng, which is produced as a naturally sweet German predicate wine Auslese.
Historical and Documented Wine-Making
Proof of a wine auction from the 1930s lists Bissersheimer Orlenberg Riesling among the wines offered from northern Palatinate. For a 2023 vintage Petit Manseng, a late hand-harvest on 6 October 2023, slow fermentation in a stainless-steel tank until February 2024, and bottling in spring 2024 are documented.
