Geisenheim and the Rothenberg
Linden town Geisenheim, Rothenberg, Kaolinite deposit
In the field-of-view of the stele you can see Geisenheim and the Cathedral of the Rheingau at the foot of the Rothenberg. The greenhouses and experimental fields of Geisenheim University are visible to the right of the spires. The view from the Rothenberg was selected by the German Wine Institute as the Most Beautiful Wine View in 2012.
Geisenheim
Although, first officially recorded in 772 AD, Geisenheim is much older and was settled by the Celts, Romans and Franks. The Old Lime Tree or Linden of Geisenheim is about 700 years old. In medieval times judicial and council meetings were held under its branches. Today the community of Geisenheim includes the districts Johannisberg, Marienthal and Stephanshausen.
Geisenheim is the seat of an internationally renowned research institute for viticulture, fruit-growing and horticulture and a college. In 2013 both were joined to form one of the smallest universities in Germany, Geisenheim University.
A volcano in the ocean
The cliff of the Rothenberg (Red Mountain) is so named because of the bright red soils found here. The colour is due to the presence of the iron oxide haematite. The gentle north-facing slope is an ancient Rhine river terrace composed of phyllite.
The clay rich marine sediment was deposited during the Lower Devonian (Gedinne; 410 - 402 million years ago). Later these sediments were covered by the volcanic rock rhyolithe.
The deformation and folding of the Rhenic Slate Mountains during the Carboniferous Period (359 299 million years ago) resulted in the intense shearing of the contact zone between the rhyolithe and phyllite.
The Rothenberg is located on a cross-regional geologic fault zone, the Saar-Saale-Fault. Hydrothermal solutions ascended from deep within the fault zone, flowed along fractures and eventually dissolved the feldspars in the rhyolithe to form a hydrous aluminium phyllosilcate Kaolinite (Al2Si2H4O9).
White gold mining on the Rothenberg
Throughout history the white Riesling wine has been known as Geisenheim Gold. However, on the Rothenberg, miners also extracted white gold, the kaolinite in open pits.
Kaolinite is used for making porcelain, in paper production or as a pigment in the paint or plastics industry. In 1891, the company C.H. Erbslöh Purveyors of Minerals and Cemicals bought the concessions for the clay and kaolinite deposits Rothenberg and Becht.
The mining operations ceased in 1975. The mining landscape was recultivated and converted to fertile vineyards.
Vineyard sites
Rothenberg (36 ha) is a First Growth vineyard. The wines produced on these steep slopes and reddish quartzite debris soils are racy with a very long ageing capacity.
The historic Mönchspfad (Monks Path) runs from Johannisberg to Eibingen through the parish of Geisenheim. The soils of the vineyard Mönchspfad (160 ha) have developed on deep, weathered loess.
The parent material in the vineyard Mäuerchen (33 ha) is calcareous loess.
The First Growth vineyard Fuchsberg (Fox Hill 68 ha) is named for the foxes that like to build their dens here. Here the soil consists of Tertiary Marl covered by deep weathered loess. This clay-rich substrate produces expressive, full-bodied wines.