Location and Classification
The Sonnenberg is documented as the Kembacher Sonnenberg in Kembach, a district of the town of Wertheim in the Main-Tauber district in Baden-Württemberg. In wine law, Kembach and Wertheim belong to the Tauberfranken wine-growing region and to the Großlage Tauberklinge. The vineyards lie on the southern slopes of Kembach.
Soil and Climate
The Kembacher Sonnenberg is associated with Bunter Sandstone. For a Riesling from the Sonnenberg, Bunter Sandstone and Muschelkalk are given as the terroir. During the cultivation period from April to October, Tauberfranken records around 1,370 sunshine hours. The region has relatively dry summers, frequent frost damage in winter, 713 millimetres of average annual rainfall in Wertheim, and a long-term average annual temperature of 9.1 °C.
History and Grape Varieties
Viticulture on the southern slopes of Kembach was resumed in 1969. At that time, 34 families from Kembach and Dietenhan planted 13 hectares, mainly with Müller-Thurgau. By 1976, the Kembacher Sonnenberg comprised 33.2 hectares, farmed by 49 families and marketed via the Reicholzheim winegrowers’ cooperative. Documented varieties include, among others, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Bacchus, Kerner, Weissburgunder, Grauburgunder, Riesling, Schwarzriesling, Regent, Acolon and Spätburgunder, as well as further later plantings.
Farming and Wine
Farming includes mechanical vine pruning, tying-in, care of the leaf wall, mechanical work between the vines, and predominantly mechanical harvesting. For more than 25 years, according to local documentation, no insecticides have been used; instead, pheromone-based procedures and forecast models are used. A documented vintage 2022 from the Sonnenberg is a single-varietal Riesling with 2.7 g/l residual sugar and 7.1 g/l acidity. It was fermented spontaneously and matured for 19 months in stainless steel, including twelve months on full lees.
