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Sonnenberg

Along with Altenberg, Herrenberg, Kapellenberg, Kirchberg, Klosterberg and Rosenberg, the designation is one of the most common single-vineyard designations in Germany. A Sonnenberg occurs a total of 80 times in almost all growing regions, making it by far the most common name. Many other vineyard names contain "sun" as a component. The best possible exposure (sunlight) plays an important role during the vegetation cycle.

Bad Sulza - Saale-Unstrut

The south to south-east facing vineyards with a slope of 20 to 30% cover 24 hectares of vineyards. The soils, which are rich in skeletons in places, consist of loamy sand to clayey loam. Here, mainly the varieties Riesling, Traminer, Muskateller, Müller-Thurgau, Cabernet Dorsa, Pinotin and Frühburgunder are cultivated. The Thüringer Weingut Bad Sulza w inery, for example, has a share in the site.

Bönnigheim - Württemberg (Württembergisch Unterland)

The vineyard was first mentioned in a document as early as 793. The vineyards, which face south-southwest to northeast and have a slope of 0 to 49%, lie at an altitude of 180 to 250 metres above sea level. They cover 150 hectares of vineyards on gypsum keuper and reed sandstone soils. Due to its enormous size, it is a very inhomogeneous site. The Schupen and Steingrüben vineyards, which face south to southeast and are sheltered from the wind, are considered to be high-quality areas. The varieties cultivated here include Pinot Noir, Lemberger (Blaufränkisch), Trollinger (Schiava Grossa), Riesling and Chardonnay. The Dautel and Stromberg wineries, for example, have shares in the site.

Eltville - Rheingau

The south-facing vineyards (from which the name derives) with slopes ranging from 10 to 25% cover 78 hectares of vines on deep loess and loess-loam soils. The best parcels are in the middle section. Here, mainly Riesling is cultivated. Shares in the site are held, for example, by the Freiherr Langwerth von Simmern and H. J. Ernst wineries.

Sonnenberg - Eltville (Rheingau)

Ingelheim - Rheinhessen (Bingen)

The west-facing flat vineyard covers only 0.4 hectares of vines on loess and sandy loam.Pinot Noir is cultivated here. The vineyard is solely owned by the Neus winery.

Leinsweiler - Palatinate (Southern Wine Route)

The south to south-east facing vineyards with slopes of up to 30% cover 110 hectares of vineyards. The soils, which vary greatly due to their enormous size, consist of loams and sands, interspersed with shell limestone and slope debris on the upper slopes. The soils have a good water retention capacity. The Pinot Noir and Riesling varieties are cultivated here. The vineyards of Ackermann Frank, Ehrhart, Emil Bauer & Söhne, Erlenwein, Leiner Bruno, Siegrist, Siener Peter and Stübinger Peter, for example, have shares in the site.

Sonnenberg - Leinsweiler (Pfalz)

Neuenahr - Ahr

The site is broken up in its southern orientation by several smaller side valleys; in these, the slopes are oriented east or west. The vineyards, some of which are very steep with slopes of 10 to 45%, cover 47 hectares of vineyards. The soils consist of a skeleton-rich conglomerate of greywacke and slate, mixed with hanging loam, loess loam and loess. Some terraces are listed. The red wine varieties Pinot Noir, Blauer Portugieser, Dornfelder, Frühburgunder, Domina and Regent are grown on more than 90% of the terraces, and the white wine varieties Riesling, Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc), Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris), Kerner and Müller-Thurgau on the rest. Shares in the site are held, for example, by the Adeneuer, Bertram Julia, Burggarten, Jean Stodden, Kreuzberg, Kriechel Peter, Lingen Peter, Meyer-Näkel, Nelles Thomas, Riske Erwin, Riske Reinhold and Weingut Sonnenberg vineyards.

Schweigen - Palatinate (Southern Wine Route)

The site covers a total of 145 hectares of vineyards at an altitude of 160 to 280 metres above sea level with a slope of 10 to 45% and consists of several parts. The core is located directly on the French border, some parts are in Alsace. It used to be called a "Wechsellage" because of the "frequently changing nationality" between France and Germany. The south-facing vineyard consists of deep limestone weathered soils with good water retention capacity. The Riesling variety is mainly grown here.

The "Kammerberg" area was an independent single vineyard and was only incorporated during the land consolidation in 1971. It is already on French soil. In the Middle Ages, it was owned by the monastery in Wissembourg. The wine was called "chamber wine". The south-facing vineyard, 250 to 260 metres above sea level, covers 2.5 hectares of vines and consists of calcareous marl and clay with pure limestone in the subsoil. It is particularly suitable for Pinot Noir.

The "Saint Paul" area is also entirely on French soil in Alsace. The name derives from an outpost of the nearby Cistercian monastery of Weißenburg known as "Sankt Paulin". The south-facing vineyard with rocky limestone soil with a low earth layer is very suitable for Pinot Noir.

The "Raedling" (from "clearing") area covers eight hectares. The southeast-facing vineyard with a slope of up to 33% lies at an altitude of 180 to 220 metres above sea level. On the skeleton-rich limestone marl soil with limestone rocks in the subsoil, mainly Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir are cultivated. A fourth area in Alsace is called "Strohlenberg". The wineries Becker Friedrich, Bernhart, Gnägy, Jülg Werner and Scheu Klaus, for example, have shares in various parts of the site.

Sulzfeld - Franconia (Maindreieck)

As part of the land consolidation in 1971, the Sulzfelder Sonnenberg was incorporated into the Cyriakusberg single vineyard. In 2013, however, it was reactivated as an independent single vineyard through the initiative of a winery. The south-facing vineyards cover 35 hectares of vines at an altitude of 210 to 270 metres above sea level with a slope of 10 to 25%. The soil consists of shell limestone in the lower part and then changes to Lettenkeuper (yellow limestone). Here, mainly the varieties Silvaner,Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Frühburgunder are cultivated. The Augustin, Brennfleck and Zehnthof Luckert family vineyards, for example, have shares in the site.

Other communities

There are other single vineyards named Sonnenberg in the municipalities and wine-growing areas of Alsheim, Alzey, Aspisheim (Rheinhessen), Bechtolsheim (Rheinhessen), Berghausen (Baden), Beutelsbach (Württemberg), Bockenheim/Weinstraße (Pfalz), Cochem (Mosel), Dalberg (Nahe), Dertingen (Baden), Ebernach (Moselle), Eichtersheim (Baden), Ellerstadt (Palatinate), Eschelbach (Baden), Essingen (Palatinate), Flein, Gemmingen, Geradstetten (Württemberg), Gönnheim (Palatinate), Großheringen (Saale-Unstrut), Guldental (Nahe), Gundelfingen (Baden), Gundheim, Guntersblum, Hackenheim (Rheinhessen), Heilbronn (Württemberg), Heimersheim (Rheinhessen), Hergenfeld (Nahe), Hohen-Sülzen (Rheinhessen), Ilbesheim (Pfalz), Irsch, Kanzem (Mosel), Kembach (Baden), Kindenheim (Pfalz), Kleinheppach (Württemberg), Marktbreit (Franconia), Michelfeld (Baden), Mühlheim, Neuleiningen (Palatinate), Niedermennig (Moselle), Niederolm (Rheinhessen), Norheim, Nußbaum (Nahe), Oberotterbach, Obrigheim (Palatinate), Opfingen (Baden), Roxheim (Nahe), Ruwer, Schleich (Moselle), Schnait (Württemberg), Schöneberg (Nahe), Schwabenheim (Rheinhessen), Schwaigern (Württemberg), Sehl (Moselle), Sinzheim (Baden), Sommerloch (Nahe), Sonnendorf (Saale-Unstrut), Sprendlingen, Stein-Bockenheim (Rheinhessen), Stetten, Talheim (Württemberg), Trier (Mosel), Udenheim (Rheinhessen), Unkel (Middle Rhine), Untereisenheim (Franconia), Varnhalt (Baden), Veldenz (Moselle), Vendersheim (Rhine-Hesse), Waldrach (Moselle), Weisenheim/Berg (Palatinate), Wildtal (Baden) and Wonsheim (Rhine-Hesse).

Eltville: © klickrhein, Frank Förster / Rheingau

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Thomas Götz

Serious sources on the internet are rare - and Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one such source. When researching for my articles, I regularly consult the wein.plus encyclopaedia. There I get reliable and detailed information.

Thomas Götz
Weinberater, Weinblogger und Journalist; Schwendi

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