Location and Landscape
Paulus is a single vineyard site in Bensheim on the Hessische Bergstraße at the western edge of the Odenwald. From the documented view of the wine-growing site, you can see over the slope and the Rhine plain as far as the Palatinate Forest and Donnersberg, and to the north over Bensheim and the Hemsberg.
Climate and Soils
The Hessische Bergstraße is protected by the Odenwald from rough north and east winds. For the region, average values of about 12 °C, more than 1,700 hours of sunshine, and 690 millimetres of rainfall per year are given. In Bensheimer Paulus, there are fast-warming granite weathering soils that are coarsely fragmentary and at risk of erosion.
Grape Varieties and Wines
For Bensheimer Paulus, wines made from Grauburgunder, Riesling, Rotem Riesling, Chardonnay, Weißburgunder, Sauvignon Blanc and Spätburgunder are documented. Among others, dry Grauburgunder, dry Riesling Kabinett, delicately off-dry Riesling, dry Rotem Riesling, dry Chardonnay Spätlese, dry Weißburgunder Kabinett, dry Sauvignon Blanc Kabinett and delicately off-dry Spätburgunder Weißherbst Kabinett are evidenced. In addition, a dry Silvaner QbA from the 2024 vintage is documented.
Viticulture and History
The site is included in regional wine-growing area migrations as well as wine and stone routes. A viewing stele at the site was awarded in 2012 as the best view over wine-growing sites on the Hessische Bergstraße. In October 2016, a documented grape harvest took place in Bensheimer Paulus as part of a wine project concerning historical findings of grape pips from the Bensheim market square.
