TERROIR PROFILE
Bensheim
Capital of the Bergstraße
Bensheim — home of Hessische Staatsweingüter Domäne Bergstraße, the region's flagship.
Climate, site & wine
In Bensheim granite weathering soils under loess dominate, storing warmth and forming light, free-draining ground. Riesling shows fruit and structure, Spätburgunder and Grauburgunder become soft.
Typical are fine, floral, medium-bodied wines; plots are small and estates mostly family-run. The Domäne Bergstraße farms the Bensheimer Kalkgasse among others; small family estates also shape the town.
TERROIR PROFILE · Hessische Bergstraße
Bensheim Capital of the Bergstraße
Bensheim — home of Hessische Staatsweingüter Domäne Bergstraße, the region's flagship.
SOILS
Graniteelegant, lightly spicy
Weathered granite produces elegant, slender wines with fine, lightly spicy profile.
Loessround, fruity, full
Loess stores water and nutrients. Wines tend to be rounder, juicier and fuller.
Loambody-rich, velvety
Loamy soils give wines volume and a soft, velvety mouthfeel.
Sandstonewarm, dry, spicy
Sandstone warms quickly and yields ripe, fragrant wines with yellow fruit and fine spice.
CLIMATE · Warm · Dry · Sunny
Mild and sunny on the western slope of the Odenwald, which shields from cold east winds while the Rhine plain supplies warmth. Rainfall is low and budbreak early.
TOPOGRAPHY · moderate
Gentle to moderately steep slopes at the foot of the Melibokus, inclined west towards the Rhine plain. Sites include Kalkgasse, Streichling, Hemsberg and Paulus; Schönberg forms a wine village of its own.
WHAT IT MEANS IN THE GLASS
Similar terroirs worldwide
Computed from fingerprint similarity
Rheinhessen-Mitte
Rheinhessen
100% similar
- Bensheim and Rheinhessen-Mitte share a strikingly similar fingerprint — the differences lie in soil and grape varieties.
Alzey-Land
Rheinhessen
100% similar
- Bensheim and Alzey-Land share a strikingly similar fingerprint — the differences lie in soil and grape varieties.
Wineries on this terroir
See all 13 →Hessische Staatsweingüter Domäne Bergstraße
Bensheim
Renown 57/100
Weingut Griesel & Compagnie
Bensheim
Renown 27/100
Weingut Schloss Schönberg
Bensheim
Renown 25/100
Weingut Rothweiler
Bensheim
Renown 23/100
Weingut der Stadt Bensheim
Bensheim
Renown 20/100
Weingut Zerback
Bensheim-Auerbach
Renown 12/100
Weingut Jäger
Bensheim-Auerbach
Renown 12/100
Weingut Bauer
Bensheim
Renown 12/100
This terroir's soils in the glossary