Hessische Bergstrasse
The small region of Hessische Bergstrasse takes its name from an old Roman trade route known as the strata montana , or mountain road. It has a pretty landscape of vines and orchards scattered on hilly slopes .It is famous for its colourful and fragrant springtime blossoms, the earliest in Germany . (Which equates to a longer growing season(Riesling and Müller-Thurgau account for two-thirds of the area under vine. The wines tend to be fragrant and rich, with more body and an acidity and finesse similar to those of the Rheingau. East of the Rhine river between Groß-Umstadt, on the hill of Darmstadt , and Laudenbach. On the steep western slope of the Odenwald. Smallest wine-growing area along the Rhine river.
Under the name "strata montana " the mountain road served the Romans as access road to the fortified castles on the Odenwald limes. The Alemannics that came in from the East overrun this border line in the 3rd century. But they kept the wine-growing from the Romans and added important things, namely the capability to manufacture sufficiently tight barrels of oak wood in which the wine is not disturbed from the taste of the otherwise used leather skins. They are also not as fragile as the clay amphoras. This gave new impetus to the wine culture. Wine-growing continued to spread under Franconian reign. Wine-growing in the famous imperial cloyster Lorsch is verified by documents since 765 AD.
In 2001 the region of Hessische Bergstraße which has 452 ha under vine produced 31.589 hectolitres of grape must which gives a yield of 71,8 hectolitres per hectares this was split into 0,0 % table wine 32,4 % qba wine and 67,6 qmp wines.
Geographical location:
Bordered by the Rhine on the west and the protective Oden Forest on the east, the Hessische Bergstrasse extends from Darmstadt to just north of Heidelberg . The region also boasts a small "island of wine" near Gross-Umstadt on the eastern outskirts of Frankfurt .
Major town(s): Bensheim, Heppenheim.
- Alsbach
- Auerbach
- Bensheim
- Brensbach
- Dietzenbach
- Erbach
- Gronau
- Gross-Umstadt
- Hambach
- Heppenheim
- Klein-Umstadt
- Roßdorf
- Schönberg
- Zell
- Zwingenberg
Specified region Hessische Bergstrasse
(a) Sub-regions:
Bereich Starkenburg
Seeheim (village no grosslage)
Mundklingen
GROSSLAGEN Rott
Schöntal
Steingeröll
Alte Burg
Höllberg
Fürstenlager
Herrenwingert
GROSSLAGEN Wolfsmagen
Kalkgrasse
Kirchberg
Steichling
Hemsberg
Paulus
Steichling
Hemsberg
Hemsberg
GROSSLAGEN Schlossberg
Stemmier
Centgericht
Steinkopf
Maiberg
Guldenzoll
Eckweg
Stemmier
Steinkopf
Maiberg
Maiberg
Bereich Umstadt
Dietzenbach (village no grosslage)
Wingersberg
Roßdorf (village no grosslage)
Roßdorf
Klein-Umstadt (village no grosslage)
Stachelberg
Gross-Umstadt (village no grosslage)
Steingerück
Herrnberg
Brensbach (village no grosslage)
Heilige Tanne