Stolzenberg

Stolzenberg is a vineyard site in Hatzenport on the Mosel and lies below the Rabenlay. The terraced vineyards around Hatzenport, including the landscape of Stolzenberg, were developed in their basic form during the medieval warm period from about 900 to 1350. Stolzenberg is recorded in a state-funded inventory of historically significant viticultural landscapes on the Mosel, with a documented area of 3.0 hectares.

The historic vineyard landscape has a slope gradient of more than 60 per cent. The parcel classified as a VDP site is oriented to the south, lies at about 85 to 180 metres above sea level, and has a gradient of 100 to 150 per cent. The vines grow on terraces that are locally called Chöre. For the classified parcel, grey-brown, sandy shale is documented; the historic steep slope is also rich in coarse rock fragments, and above the site, shale, sandstone layers and quartz veins are described.

For Hatzenport, an average annual temperature of 10.7 °C, around 1,350 hours of sunshine and about 580 litres of precipitation per square metre and year are documented. The south to south-south-west orientation of Stolzenberg ensures a sustained warm evening sun. The Riesling variety is designated as the classified grape variety.

A previously abandoned parcel was cleared; its dry stone walls were restored and it was replanted with Riesling in 2010. The restored parcel is cultivated without herbicides; the sward between the vine rows on the terraces is cut twice a year with brush cutters. Stolzenberg is listed as an independent site name in the vineyard register of the Landwirtschaftskammer Rheinland-Pfalz. The VDP classifies the site in Hatzenport as VDP.GROSSE LAGE® with a classified area of 1.78 hectares; this classification is a VDP classification and not a statutory vineyard designation.