In the field-of-view of the stele you can see a newly constructed straight terrace. The Bodental lies next to a landscape called the Teufelskadrich, a steep sloped terrain covered with scree and oak coppice. Opposite the Bodental you can see Trechtingshausen, whose citizens have close ties to the vineyards in this valley.

The Middle Rhine Valley with its steep vineyards is a unique cultural landscape. The vineyard terraces are a monument to human labour and culture – landscape design in perfection. It is here that the high-quality, characteristic wines of the Middle Rhine Valley are grown. Steep vineyards also provide habitats for threatened, warmth-loving plants and animals.

Steep vineyards are a characteristic feature of the distinctive landscape of this region.  

Managing a steep vineyard is extremely arduous and production costs are much higher here than in the level vineyards on the plains. Because steep slope vineyard management requires intensive manual labour, the comprehensive introduction of mechanised viticultural procedures has rendered these sites economically unviable. This is why many old steep vineyards were abandoned in the last century.

This development has had a visible negative impact on the landscape and nature.

The winegrowers of Lorch are working on the steep vineyards of the future. Small single-row straight terraces improve the efficiency of steep vineyard management. Such terraces allow the winegrower to employ mechanised methods, thus reducing the amount of manual labour. In addition to this, these new terraces offer a number of viticultural and ecological benefits. An extensive covering of grasses and herbs stabilizes the slope and creates habitats for plants and animals. The top of the terrace is slightly inclined towards the slope to prevent surface runoff of rainwater, helping to increase the amount of water infiltration to the root zone.

This reduces erosion and ensures that the entire volume of water from precipitation is made available to the vines.

An example of such a vineyard, which was constructed in 2010, can be seen just below this stele. Width of terrace 2.10 m / Height of the step 2 – 3 m.

Viticulture can contribute towards solving conservation issues.

The green steps of the straight terraces in the steep vineyards are home to a large number of flowering plants, which themselves attract beneficial organisms such as bees. This biological diversity has developed over hundreds of years of wine-growing. The permanently green vineyards and terrace steps are habitat to 25 “Red List” plants and many threatened animals: reptiles (e.g. lizards, smooth snake), insects (e.g. Blue-winged locust, Jersey tiger, Scarce swallowtail, Owlfly) and birds (e.g. Rock bunting, Red-backed shrike).

For centuries, the winegrowers from Trechtingshausen managed vineyards in the Bodental. They crossed the Rhine in flat-bottomed rowboats. Throughout human history the river has always been a political and geographical boundary and therefore at the centre of many disputes. In recent times, the increasing difficulties in managing these sites have forced almost all winegrowers from the left bank of the Rhine to give up their trade.  

The name of the vineyard site Bodental-Steinberg recalls the joining of two neighbouring vineyards Bodental and Steinberg. The soils have developed on the weathered debris of slate, sandstone and quartzites. The wines are full and dense with a high minerality and striking acidity.