Location and classification
Osterberg is an officially registered single vineyard in the Bingen sub-region and belongs to the large-scale vineyard St. Rochuskapelle. It is located in the cadastral district of Büdesheim in Bingen am Rhein. In the 2024 vineyards register, it is listed under number 710606 with a planted area of 11.9 hectares.
Topography and soils
The regional vineyard profile specifies an elevation of 160 to 175 metres and an east to south-east aspect. The Osterberg parcel plot documented by Weingut Riffel, by contrast, is about 200 metres above sea level, faces south and has a slope gradient of around 20 percent. The soil is described regionally as marl and pelosoil formed from calcareous clayey deposits of the Tertiary sea. In the Riffel parcel, calcareous marl clay and river pebbles from an old Nahe riverbed occur; the parent rock is quartzite.
Historical reference
Osterberg is documented in the 12th century under the name “im Osterberg”. The name refers to its eastern location in relation to Büdesheim. A vineyard belonging to the Rochuskapelle was auctioned off by the Bingen city council in 1788.
Wine and cultivation
The regional terroir profile links Osterberg wines with full body, dense texture, moderate acidity and pronounced ripe fruit. The dry Riesling from the 2024 vintage, documented by Weingut Riffel, consists entirely of Riesling and shows notes of apple, lime, white grapefruit and herbs with a creamy texture. The vines planted in 2017 were hand-harvested; the wine fermented with natural yeasts in the traditional German large wooden cask and matured on full lees. Weingut Riffel classifies its Binger-Osterberg wines as Grosse Lage.
