Location and Geography
The Sonnenberg is a single vineyard site of Kanzem in the Saar sub-region of the Mosel wine-growing region. The site includes steep plots above the Saar, which face south-west.
Climate and Soils
The Sonnenberg receives long-lasting sunshine. Slate stores the heat of the day and releases it again at night, reducing temperature fluctuations. The Saar canal is described as additional frost protection. For the site, grey slate and soils formed from slate have been documented.
Vines and Cultivation
In 2016, Weingut Cantzheim replanted around 0.5 hectares of previously fallow land in the Kanzemer Sonnenberg with Riesling. Another documented plot has ungrafted vines that are at least 80 years old and are tended not in straight, standard rows, but with irregular growth.
Wines
From the Kanzemer Sonnenberg, Rieslings have been documented in dry, off-dry and also off-sweet, Spätlese and Auslese styles. A Riesling from the 2018 vintage was fermented to a noble-sweet residual-sugar level after a harvest with 110 degrees Oechsle.
