Location and landscape
The Ratsweinberg is a legally registered vineyard site in Meißen. It belongs to the Großlage Spaargebirge and to the Meißen area within the Saxon wine-growing region. A documented plot measuring 0.19 hectares lies on the south side of the Meißner Burgberg in the Elbe breakthrough valley. It is south-facing, has a slope of 60 per cent, and is farmed as a terraced vineyard.
Soils and cultivation
Meißner granite is named as the prevailing geological subsoil of the Ratsweinberg. For the Ratsweinberg/Rosengründchen site complex, well-permeable weathering products of granitic and syenitic rocks are described. The Burgberg plot was replanted from April 2012 with ecologically certified planting material. Terraces and dry-stone walls have been restored; existing biotope areas are still maintained. Upward flows of warm air and a long frost-free period shape the documented plot.
Grape varieties and vinification
On the 0.19-hectare Burgberg plot, Johanniter and Regent are grown. For grapes from the Ratsweinberg, Goldriesling, Grauburgunder, Helios, Hibernal, Traminer, Scheurebe, Regent, Spätburgunder, Solaris and Müller-Thurgau are also named. Rothes Gut Meißen vinifies grapes from the site in modern stainless-steel tanks.
History and current use
The Ratsweinberg was first mentioned in Meißen in 1350. After the sale of the vineyard by the city in 1355, the Meißner council acquired another vineyard from the St. Afra monastery in the district of Cölln in 1356. These acquisitions formed the basis for later larger municipal holdings, which grew through further documented purchases or transfers in 1446, 1501 and 1529. From 1716 to 1784, the Ratsweinberg was leased; records mention harvest work, pressing processes and a typical harvest period of about between 10 and 27 October. Today, members of the Meißen winegrowing association farm plots as hobby winegrowers. Pressing and selling the association’s wine grapes are carried out by the Sächsische Winzergenossenschaft Meißen.
