Location and landscape
Pittermännchen is a vineyard site in Dorsheim in Germany’s Nahe wine-growing region. It lies above the Trollbachtal valley on a south-facing slope with a gradient of around 20 to 50 percent.
Climate and soils
The south-facing slope receives direct sunlight and warms up quickly. Rocky sections can heat up strongly, while cooling at night supports the development of acidity in the grapes. The soils contain grey Devonian slate, red Permian clay slate, scree and quartzite; in places, loam lies over the rock material. At a depth of about 50 centimetres, porous yellowish-white clay slate was documented, which the operator refers to as material from the Devonian sea.
Grape variety and wine style
The area classified according to VDP comprises 7.00 hectares. Pittermännchen is designated as VDP.GROSSE LAGE® and associated with Riesling. Site-specific Rieslings are described as having citrus and peach fruit, herbal and spicy notes, as well as a mineral, tension-filled and structured character.
Name and history
The name Pittermännchen refers to the Petermännchen from the 16th century, a small silver coin. 32 of these coins corresponded to a gulden. The vineyard name is documented in the land register from 1860.
