TERROIR PROFILE
Dresden & Pillnitz
Pläner sandstone on the Elbe slopes
Dresden & Pillnitz: fine, clear wines from sandstone and granite above the city.
Climate, site & wine
At Pillnitz's Königlicher Weinberg the grapes grow on weathered granite, while at Merbitz Pläner prevails. The wines are slender and fresh.
Riesling, Weißburgunder, Grauburgunder and Traminer are the main varieties; Klaus Zimmerling in Pillnitz is among the known estates. The vineyards belong to the Großlage Dresdner Elbhänge; besides the Königlicher Weinberg there are sites at Wachwitz and at the Elbe palaces.
TERROIR PROFILE · Saxony
Dresden & Pillnitz Pläner sandstone on the Elbe slopes
Dresden & Pillnitz: fine, clear wines from sandstone and granite above the city.
SOILS
Graniteelegant, lightly spicy
Weathered granite produces elegant, slender wines with fine, lightly spicy profile.
Sandstonewarm, dry, spicy
Sandstone warms quickly and yields ripe, fragrant wines with yellow fruit and fine spice.
Loambody-rich, velvety
Loamy soils give wines volume and a soft, velvety mouthfeel.
CLIMATE · Cool continental
Saxony has around 1,570 hours of sunshine a year under a continental climate. The Dresden Elbe slopes lie in the Elbe valley, with the wine area stretching from the city to Pirna.
TOPOGRAPHY · moderate
Elbe slopes at Loschwitz and Wachwitz, the Königlicher Weinberg beneath Schloss Pillnitz, and sites upstream as far as Pirna. Small plantings also exist at Cossebaude and Pesterwitz.
WHAT IT MEANS IN THE GLASS
Similar terroirs worldwide
Computed from fingerprint similarity
Meißen & Diesbar-Seußlitz
Saxony
96% similar
- Minerality (slightly): Dresden & Pillnitz is less mineral → fruit-led, rounder (6 vs. 7).
Târnave
Transylvania
94% similar
- Dryness (slightly): Dresden & Pillnitz is drier → more concentrated, denser, smaller berries (6 vs. 5).
- Minerality (slightly): Dresden & Pillnitz is more mineral → salty-stony notes, more tension (6 vs. 5).
Wineries on this terroir
See all 11 →This terroir's soils in the glossary