Viticulture in Stuttgart covers 423 hectares of vineyards - a good two percent of the city's area. The Baden-Württemberg state capital Stuttgart is located in the climatically favorable Neckar Valley and is one of Germany's largest wine-growing communities. Viticulture is practiced in 16 of the 23 city districts, and most of the approximately 500 businesses do so on a part-time basis. Agricultural businesses in the narrower sense cultivated 358 ha (as of 2007).Landwirtschaftlich genutzte Fläche in Stuttgart – Statistisches Landesamt (Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive) The cultivated area is spread over 18 individual vineyards, all of which belong to the Weinsteige vineyard. Most of the land is cultivated on steep slopes. Red wine accounts for 71 percent of production (295 hectares of a total of 415 hectares of vineyards).Daten und Fakten zum Weinland Württemberg.
Climate and geology The entire Württemberg growing region lies in a transition zone between the Atlantic and continental climate. The Neckar Valley benefits from the moderating influence of the river. Due to its location in the rain shadow of the northern Black Forest, Stuttgart is one of the places in Germany with the highest solar radiation.Globalstrahlung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 2003(Memento of the original from February 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive). With a growing season of 230–240 days (average temperature above 5 °C), Stuttgart has the longest growing season in all of Württemberg. The only disadvantage for viticulture is the high risk of hailstorms, against which one or two hail planes are used.
Geologically, Stuttgart's vineyards predominantly belong to the Keuper region. Shell limestone only dominates in the northeast of the city (Bad Cannstatt, Mühlhausen). Due to the steepness of the layers, the soil layer made up of the weathering products of the subsoil – marl and sandy to clayey loam – is quite thin. The vines therefore have to drive their roots into the parent rock.
Grape varieties Following the Württemberg tradition, red wine also dominates in Stuttgart. At the beginning of the 1990s, 62.5 percent of the 400 hectares were planted with red grape varieties. The Trollinger alone accounted for 190 hectares. The Pinot Noir took up 15 hectares. The Dornfelder is now becoming increasingly important. Also worth mentioning are Lemberger, Heroldrebe, Samtrot, Muskat-Trollinger and Sankt Laurent. More recently, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon have also been planted – a response to the growing demand for full-bodied red wines. The typically dry and sunny autumn weather allows these grape varieties, which come from wine-growing regions far further south, to still ripen. However, their quality potential is difficult to assess because these vineyards are still very young.VDP:VDP.Weingut Heid. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
In recent decades, white wine has regained ground – in 1950, over 90 percent were planted with red vines. Riesling is the leader among white grape varieties – it occupied 65 hectares in the early 1990s. Müller-Thurgau accounted for 40 hectares. Silvaner, Kerner, Pinot Blanc and Gewürztraminer are also cultivated on a larger scale. Recently, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc have also been gaining ground.
Vineyards The Stuttgart vineyard sites, together with those in the city of Esslingen am Neckar and parts of the Fellbach vineyards, form the large “Weinsteige” site. However, the latter is rarely found on labels, as Stuttgart wines usually only come from a single vineyard anyway. The Stuttgart district is noted before the location name, e.g. B. “Cannstatter Zuckerle” or “Untertürkheimer Altenberg”. Only the wines grown in the inner city districts can be called “Stuttgart”.Webshop Weingut Held. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
+ Stuttgart vineyards (clockwise from the city center) Location name Neighborhoods Area(ha) Orientation Steepness Soil type Mönchhalde Stuttgart, Bad Cannstatt 5 West – southeast – east(small isolated layers) steep Keuper weatheringclayey loam – loamy clay Kriegsberg Stuttgart 1.5 South – southeast steep Keuper weatheringloamy clay Berg Stuttgart, Wangen, Münster,Bad Cannstatt, Feuerbach,Zuffenhausen 90 Southwest – south – southeast moderately to steep Keuper weatheringclayey loam, loamy clay Halde Bad Cannstatt 3.5 southwest steep to steeply inclined Muschelkalk weatheringclayey loam Zuckerle Bad Cannstatt, Münster, Hofen, Mühlhausen 20 West – South – Southeast steep wall terraces Muschelkalk weatheringclayey loam, loamy clay Steinhalde Bad Cannstatt, Münster, Mühlhausen 20 Southwest – South – East predominantly steep (terraced) Muschelkalk weatheringclayey loam, loamy clay Mönchberg Untertürkheim, Fellbach 50 West – South – Southeast slightly inclined to steep Keuper weatheringlight marl – sandy loam, loamy clay Herzogenberg Bad Cannstatt, Untertürkheim 15 West – southwest – south slightly to strongly inclined Keuper weatheringclayey loam Gips Untertürkheim, Fellbach 10 Southwest – South moderately inclined Gypsum Keuper weatheringclayey loam – loamy clay Altenberg Untertürkheim 23 Southwest – South steep Keuper weatheringlight marl – loamy sand – loamy clay Schlossberg Rotenberg, Uhlbach, Untertürkheim 40 Southwest – south – southeast slightly inclined to steep Keuper weatheringmarly to sandy loam Götzenberg mit Steingrube Uhlbach 70 West – South steep Keuper weatheringsandy to clayey loam Kirchberg Obertürkheim 22 West – Southwest – Southeast steep Keuper weatheringlight marl gravel to clayey loam Ailenberg Obertürkheim, Esslingen 28 West – Southwest steep Keuper weatheringlight marl gravel to clayey loam Lenzenberg Hedelfingen, Rohracker 27 Southwest – South steeply inclined, partly steep terraces Keuper weatheringclayey loam, heavy clay Schlossberg Hohenheim 3.7 South moderately inclined Clay on Black Jura Schnarrenberg Bad Cannstatt 3.5 Southwest steep (terraced) Keuper weatheringclayey loam, loamy clay Abelsberg Stuttgart, Gablenberg, Gaisburg 3 West – Southeast(small isolated layers) moderately to strongly inclined Keuper weatheringclayey loam, loamy clay
Producer
Cooperatives Cooperatives Foundation Members Vineyard area (ha) Bad Cannstatt 1923 70 45 Hedelfingen 1955 40 11,5 Rotenberg-Uhlbach 1936/1906 214 120 Rohracker 1919 37 8 Untertürkheim 1887 91 95 The majority of Stuttgart wines are produced by the five wine cooperatives. Their members include many part-time winegrowers. Production is mainly for the local market, which is why the traditional Trollinger predominates. However, the larger cooperatives have responded to a shift in demand with new product lines. International grape varieties, yield restrictions and modern cellaring processes including barrel aging are now part of the repertoire. At the forefront of this movement is the Untertürkheim wine manufacturer, a cooperative that has called itself a wine manufacturer since 2001. Its cellar master Jürgen Off was voted “Estate Manager of the Year” in 2005 by Gault Millau. By being awarded the third grape in the 2009 Gault Millau, the Untertürkheim wine manufacturer has managed to rise to the upper house of Württemberg. This success also convinced the neighbors: in 2004, the Obertürkheim cooperatives voted unanimously to join the wine manufacturer. In 2007, the Uhlbach and Rotenberg winegrowers' cooperatives merged to form Collegium Wirtemberg - Weingärtner Rotenberg & Uhlbach e. G. Their wines are produced in the "Fleckensteinbruch" wine press on the outskirts of Untertürkheim. The Hedelfingen winegrowers' cooperative is one of the smallest cooperatives in the greater Stuttgart area in terms of its cooperative structure.
Private wineries Most of the private Stuttgart wineries only produce small quantities, which are served either in the attached wine taverns or in local wine bars. Only a few are known beyond the region. Four estates with Stuttgart locations are members of the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates (VDP):VDP:Weinberg.Online. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
The Heid winery is located in Fellbach and cultivates, among other things, Pinot Noir & Lemberger in the large "Lämmler" vineyard. A large part of the 11 hectares of vineyards are Trollinger, Pinot Noir, Lemberger & Riesling. A small specialty of the winery is the "Endersbacher Wetzstein - Pinot Noir Auslese". The winery has been a member of the VDP since 2013 and has been certified organic since 2007. The Aldinger winery, based in Fellbach, cultivates a total of 23 hectares, including the Untertürkheimer Gips (9.6 hectares) as a monopoly site. 24% is Riesling, 19% Trollinger, 12% each Red Burgundy and Lemberger, and the rest Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Cabernet grape varieties and Merlot. The Untertürkheimer Herzogenberg (15 hectares) is the sole property of the Untertürkheimer Wöhrwag winery. A total of 18.5 hectares are planted with 35 percent Riesling, 20 percent Trollinger and 10 percent each Lemberger and Merlot, the rest being Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Herzog von Württemberg winery in Ludwigsburg, which belongs to the court chamber of the House of Württemberg, owns 7.5 hectares in the Untertürkheimer Mönchberg on the Württemberg. The wines offered are Lemberger and Spätburgunder. The Fellbach winery Rainer Schnaitmann cultivates not only Fellbach vineyards, but also smaller areas in Uhlbach's Götzenberg and Untertürkheim's Altenberg. The former even produces a Grosses Gewächs.
Other quality-oriented estates are: Weingut Diehl (5.4 ha), Rotenberg (Schlossberg) Weingut Warth (10 ha) Rotenberg (Altenberg und Mönchberg) Weingut Markus Schwarz (8.6 ha), Untertürkheim (Altenberg and Mönchberg) Wein- und Sektgut Christel Currle (8.5 ha), Uhlbach (Götzenberg) Weingut Gerhard Schwarz (2.5 ha), Untertürkheim (Altenberg und Mönchberg) Weingut Peter Mayer Jägerhof (3.3 ha), Burgholzhof (Cannstatter Berg) Weingut Albert und Konrad Zaiß (11 ha), Obertürkheim (Kirchberg) Weingut Bauer (4 ha), Bad Cannstatt (locations: Cannstatter Berg and Zuckerle, Feuerbacher Berg)
Municipal Winery The city of Stuttgart’s winery has been in existence since 1949. Before that, the yield from the city’s vineyards was auctioned off. The winery is located in a former air raid shelter in Bad Cannstatt. The estate cultivates 17.4 hectares in the Stuttgart Mönchhalde (including on the Karlshöhe and the Neue Weinsteige), the Cannstatter Berg and the Cannstatter Zuckerle. By maintaining a total of 4.9 hectares of terraced steep slopes, the city is doing its part to preserve these cultural monuments. The quality of the wines has improved considerably in recent years.Monika Spiegel: Weingut wieder in der Diskussion. In: Amtsblatt Stuttgart, No. 15 from 10. April 2008, p. 6. In 2007, the sale of 124,000 litres of wine generated sales of 700,000 euros, meaning the winery is in the red. As a way out, an expert commissioned by the city suggested privatizing or leasing the estate. A market survey is now being carried out to examine the alternatives of leasing or continuing to operate it as a municipally owned business. A decision should be made by the end of 2008. In April 2009, the city's Committee for Economic Affairs and Housing approved the renovation of the city's wine press after the building was only partially usable due to structural defects. In addition to the winery, the city also operates the Stuttgart Wine Museum in the former Uhlbach wine press.
History