MAIN Wine Europe Germany Saale-Unstrut

The wine-growing region of Saale-Unstrut is the northernmost of Germany's wine-growing regions and one of the smallest, divided into the Thuringia and Schloß Neuenburg areas.

This wine growing region was in the East German zone until reunification, and the wines and their reputation suffered under the communist economy.

With a long tradition of grape-growing and wine making, the vineyards of the Saale and Unstrut river valleys are once again producing some top quality wines. The first official records of wine growing in the Saale-Unstrut-Gebiet date back to 998. This region survived the onslaught of the Phylloxera epeidemic and began grafting Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner and Weißburgunder (Pinot blanc) grapes to American rootstocks in 1887. There is no reason to think that the region's gifts should be permanently lost due to a period of political experimentation.

The romantic Saale River valley, the scenic Unstrut River valley, the hills near the towns of Freyburg and Naumburg and a few small vineyards near the Süssen See produce a soft, dry white wine. Since the region is so far north, Spätlese and Auslese wines are very rare, but the earlier harvesting of QbA and Kabinett wines results in some exceptional wines that taste best when young. The Rotkäppchen Sektkellerei was founded in 1856 and the production of this well known German sparkling wine has continued in the Saale-Unstrut without a break even during the Communist years. The area also produces a small amount of red wines from the hearty Blau Portugieser, Dornfelder and Blue Late Burgundy grapes...

The Network for Small European Wine Area - Saale-Unstrut-Gebiet - A beautiful site, Vinest covers the smaller European wine growing regions well. The information on this region includes the wine history, current trends and tourist attractions in this scenic area.

Wein-Plus Saale-Unstrut - A good overview of the area including the climate and the soil. Regional information on tourism and a few wineries that are recommended with links to additional sites (in German) also a link to a listing of all wineries in wine region Saale-Unstrut.

Saale - Unstrut - No nonsense facts from wein.com give details on the regions, the history, the soil and climate, a table of the types of grape vines grown in the Saale-Unstrut area by percentage and a list of recommendations.

Saale-Unstrut Tourism - The wine and sparkling wine sections here are brief but nicely done. The whole site is a tribute to the beauty of the region both natural and man made. The map of the wine route opens to a larger map when it is clicked. Hopefully, it will at some point offer more information on the villages and their wines, but that is not the case at present.

also see -> Ahr | Baden | Franken | Hessisiche Bergstrasse

Mittelrhein | Mosel-Saar-Ruwer | Nahe | Pfalz | Rhinegau

Rhinehessen | Saale-Unstrut | Sachsen | Württemberg

also see -> Top Tourist Attractions in Germany