Untere Ahr (Bad Neuenahr–Heimersheim)

The Lower Ahr covers the lower stretch of the Ahr valley between Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler and the confluence of the Ahr with the Rhine near Sinzig. Unlike the narrow middle course, the valley here opens towards the Rhine plain; the wine villages include Walporzheim, Ahrweiler, Bad Neuenahr, Heppingen and Heimersheim. Well-known sites are the Heimersheimer Burggarten and the Landskrone, an extinct volcanic cone above the valley.

The soils are mostly Devonian slate and greywacke, increasingly covered by loess and volcanic material in the lower valley. For its northerly latitude the climate is comparatively mild: the Eifel shelters the valley, rainfall is low and the slopes store heat. The Ahr is among the northernmost red-wine regions in Europe. The flood disaster of July 2021 also hit vineyards, cellars and estates here hard.

Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) dominates, alongside Frühburgunder, Portugieser and Riesling. Reds from slate are spicy and mineral, with fine fruit and moderate alcohol; estates such as Nelles, Burggarten and Brogsitter shape this section. On loess and loam the wines turn out rounder and softer than on the steep Upper Ahr.