Location and classification
Ungsberg is a registered single vineyard in the Traben-Trarbach district of Traben-Trarbach in the Mosel region, in the Bernkastel area and within the Großlage Schwarzlay. In the official wine-growing sites directory, the site is listed under number 410944. It lies in the Kautenbachtal, a side valley of the Mosel.
Topography and soils
The south-facing, concave vineyard lies protected in the side valley. The steep slope has an incline of 60 to 100 per cent, or approximately 27 to 45 degrees, and is at an altitude of around 150 to 250 metres. The soils consist of grey, blue and brown slate with clear quartzite inclusions, or quartz-containing material in the area of the vine roots.
Vines and cultivation
The registered planted area comprised 1.2 hectares in 2024. Documented parcels include, in part, own-rooted old vines with an age of more than 40 years and a yield of about 30 hectolitres per hectare. Farming is described as close to nature and environmentally friendly. The documented parcels and wines are entirely planted with Riesling, or produced from it.
History and wine
Richard Böcking reports indications of cultivation in Roman times and names 1669 as the first written mention in Johann Hofmann’s “Trorbachische Ehren-Säul”. He classifies Ungsberg as a Grand Cru site and as a Class 1 site on the historical Prussian wine-growing sites classification map. The documented Böcking-Ungsberg is a dry Riesling with herb and spice notes, including chamomile and saffron, a structured palate and fine acidity. The grapes are hand-harvested and sorted, fermented with natural yeasts, matured on the lees for about ten months, and ripened in German oak barrels.
