Mittelrhein (or Middle Rhine) is a region (Anbaugebiet) for quality wine in Germany,[1] and is located along a 120 km stretch of river Rhine in the tourist portions of the Rhine region known as Middle Rhine. On the left bank of Rhine, vineyards begin immediately downstream of the Nahe estuary and last until Koblenz. On the right bank, vineyards begin where Rheingau ends and last until 8 kilometers south of Bonn, in the Siebengebirge.[2] Parts of the Rhine Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage since 2002, make up the southern part of Mittelrhein.[3]
The vineyard site Bopparder Hamm in the Mittelrhein region, with river Rhine in the foreground.
The region's 448 hectares (1,110 acres)[4] of vineyards (2013 situation) are dominated by white wine grapes (85%) to a higher extent than any other wine region of Germany with the exception of Mosel.[5] With the much-appreciated Riesling being the most grown variety at 68% [4] of the vineyards, and considering the vicinity to the world-famous regions Rheingau and Mosel, it could perhaps be expected that Mittlerhein would enjoy a commercial success. In reality, the situation is quite the opposite. In between 1989 and 2009 the Middle Rhine lost 36% of its total area of vines under cultivation, while the nationwide development shows a plus of 7.37% [6] Since the region's planted area has been shrinking for quite some time, the region's wines are hardly ever seen on export markets, and seem to be rather unknown even inside Germany. The underlying reasons are manifold.
The must per hectare comparison of German wine growing regions shows that in average, the Middle Rhine ranks 3rd lowest in output per hectare with an average of 68 hl / ha between 2001 and 2012. Only Saale-Unstrut (56 hl/ha) and Saxony (45 hl/ha) yield a lower output. The nationwide average over the same time frame comes up to 91 hl/ha. Hence, in a ten-year average, the Middle Rhine region only yields 75% of the nation’s average hectolitre per hectare output.[6] In 2012, the output per hectare was 59 hl / ha,[7] hence even 13% less than the ten year average of the region and 35% less than the average national output for 2012. In 2013, there were greater difficulties for harvesting and production. The bad weather conditions throughout the year led to minimal output, especially for late ripening grapes like Riesling, by far the most grown variety. Many quality producers only harvested 30 hl / ha, and some producers less. Despite these low yields, the region's wines in the 2013 vintage were of a high quality, and prices remained stable and low.[8]
From countless conversations to wine growers in and outside the area, the conclusions on the underlying reasons are various. On one side, the area is vulnerable to the climate conditions of the respective vintage year; on the other side, there is an ongoing trend to forfeit quantity for the sake of quality. The most hyped wineries all over the world get worked up on only selecting the best grapes by hand. Due to the region’s geological conditions, this is usual practice on the Middle Rhine.[9] The difference: Prices don't quadruple because of this fact.
Mittelrhein is divided into two districts ("Bereiche"), made up of eleven sites ("Großlagen") and 111 vineyards ("Einzellagen"). In the north, four villages which are situated in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia make up the district Siebengebirge, while the bulk of the vineyards, in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, define the district Loreley. Vineyards are situated on both sides of the Rhine, with a few vineyards being situated on the banks of Lahn, a tributary of the Rhine.[10]
From south to north, the districts and sites making up the region are:[11]
^RomanticWine.de 2014-07-27 at the Wayback Machine accessed on July 23, 2014
^Mittelrhein-wein.com: Die Weinlagen im Anbaugebiet Mittelrhein, accessed on March 21, 2008
^Deutsches Weininstitut – Tabelle Lagenregister Mittelrhein 2014-05-06 at the Wayback Machine
^RomanticWine.de Vineyards on the Middle Rhine 2014-07-27 at the Wayback Machine accessed on July 23, 2014
^Landwirtschaftliche Bodennutzung - Rebflächen - Fachserie 3 Reihe 3.1.5 - 2008 [Agricultural land use - Areas under vine]. Wiesbaden, Germany: Statistisches Bundesamt. 2008. Archived from the original on 2011-08-12.
External linksedit
Mittelrhein-Wein.com 2008-03-23 at the Wayback Machine, website on the region's wines
, non-commercial website in English on the wine growing region Mittelrhein
October 31, 2023
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Mittelrhein or Middle Rhine is a region Anbaugebiet for quality wine in Germany 1 and is located along a 120 km stretch of river Rhine in the tourist portions of the Rhine region known as Middle Rhine On the left bank of Rhine vineyards begin immediately downstream of the Nahe estuary and last until Koblenz On the right bank vineyards begin where Rheingau ends and last until 8 kilometers south of Bonn in the Siebengebirge 2 Parts of the Rhine Gorge a UNESCO World Heritage since 2002 make up the southern part of Mittelrhein 3 The vineyard site Bopparder Hamm in the Mittelrhein region with river Rhine in the foreground The region s 448 hectares 1 110 acres 4 of vineyards 2013 situation are dominated by white wine grapes 85 to a higher extent than any other wine region of Germany with the exception of Mosel 5 With the much appreciated Riesling being the most grown variety at 68 4 of the vineyards and considering the vicinity to the world famous regions Rheingau and Mosel it could perhaps be expected that Mittlerhein would enjoy a commercial success In reality the situation is quite the opposite In between 1989 and 2009 the Middle Rhine lost 36 of its total area of vines under cultivation while the nationwide development shows a plus of 7 37 6 Since the region s planted area has been shrinking for quite some time the region s wines are hardly ever seen on export markets and seem to be rather unknown even inside Germany The underlying reasons are manifold The must per hectare comparison of German wine growing regions shows that in average the Middle Rhine ranks 3rd lowest in output per hectare with an average of 68 hl ha between 2001 and 2012 Only Saale Unstrut 56 hl ha and Saxony 45 hl ha yield a lower output The nationwide average over the same time frame comes up to 91 hl ha Hence in a ten year average the Middle Rhine region only yields 75 of the nation s average hectolitre per hectare output 6 In 2012 the output per hectare was 59 hl ha 7 hence even 13 less than the ten year average of the region and 35 less than the average national output for 2012 In 2013 there were greater difficulties for harvesting and production The bad weather conditions throughout the year led to minimal output especially for late ripening grapes like Riesling by far the most grown variety Many quality producers only harvested 30 hl ha and some producers less Despite these low yields the region s wines in the 2013 vintage were of a high quality and prices remained stable and low 8 From countless conversations to wine growers in and outside the area the conclusions on the underlying reasons are various On one side the area is vulnerable to the climate conditions of the respective vintage year on the other side there is an ongoing trend to forfeit quantity for the sake of quality The most hyped wineries all over the world get worked up on only selecting the best grapes by hand Due to the region s geological conditions this is usual practice on the Middle Rhine 9 The difference Prices don t quadruple because of this fact Contents 1 Geographical classification 2 Grape varieties 3 References 4 External linksGeographical classification editMittelrhein is divided into two districts Bereiche made up of eleven sites Grosslagen and 111 vineyards Einzellagen In the north four villages which are situated in the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia make up the district Siebengebirge while the bulk of the vineyards in the federal state of Rhineland Palatinate define the district Loreley Vineyards are situated on both sides of the Rhine with a few vineyards being situated on the banks of Lahn a tributary of the Rhine 10 From south to north the districts and sites making up the region are 11 District Loreley Rhineland Palatinate Burg Reichenstein centered on Oberheimbach Schloss Stahleck centered on Bacharach Herrenberg centered on Kaub Schloss Schonburg centered on Oberwesel Loreleyfelsen centered on Sankt Goarshausen Burg Rheinfels centered on Sankt Goar Gedeonseck centered on Boppard Marksburg centered on Koblenz Lahntal centered on Obernhof Burg Hammerstein centered on HammersteinDistrict Siebengebirge North Rhine Westphalia Petersberg centered on KonigswinterView a list of all the vineyards on the Middle Rhine 12 Grape varieties editThe most cultivated grape varieties by area in 2008 were 13 Riesling 309 ha 67 0 Spatburgunder 40 ha 8 7 Muller Thurgau 29 ha 6 3 Kerner 15 ha 3 3 Dornfelder 14 ha 3 0 Weisser Burgunder 13 ha 2 8 Grauer Burgunder 10 ha 2 2 References edit Wein de German Agricultural Society Middle Rhine Archived 2013 02 12 at archive today read on January 2 2008 J Robinson ed The Oxford Companion to Wine Third Edition p 445 446 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0 19 860990 6 Mittelrhein wein com Archived 2008 03 23 at the Wayback Machine accessed on March 21 2008 a b Statistical State Office RLP Archived 2011 01 31 at the Wayback Machine accessed July 23 2014 German Wine Institute German wine statistics 2009 2010 Archived 2011 07 26 at the Wayback Machine a b DESTATIS accessed July 23 2014 pdf of the DWI Archived 2014 04 12 at the Wayback Machine accessed July 23 2014 RomanticWine de accessed on July 23 2014 RomanticWine de Archived 2014 07 27 at the Wayback Machine accessed on July 23 2014 Mittelrhein wein com Die Weinlagen im Anbaugebiet Mittelrhein accessed on March 21 2008 Deutsches Weininstitut Tabelle Lagenregister Mittelrhein Archived 2014 05 06 at the Wayback Machine RomanticWine de Vineyards on the Middle Rhine Archived 2014 07 27 at the Wayback Machine accessed on July 23 2014 Landwirtschaftliche Bodennutzung Rebflachen Fachserie 3 Reihe 3 1 5 2008 Agricultural land use Areas under vine Wiesbaden Germany Statistisches Bundesamt 2008 Archived from the original on 2011 08 12 External links editMittelrhein Wein com Archived 2008 03 23 at the Wayback Machine website on the region s wines RomanticWine de non commercial website in English on the wine growing region Mittelrhein Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mittelrhein wine region amp oldid 1145390997, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
