In the field-of-view of the stele you can see the west slope of the vineyard Hattenheimer Schützenhaus in the foreground. This is a perfect example of “asymmetrical valley development” in the Rheingau. The “Hallgartener Zange” is the highest point of the Rheingau. The Steinberg is considered to be one of the best vineyards of the Rheingau.

The Rheingau spans two very distinct geological regions: the Mainz Basin, a Tertiary marine basin that was filled with sand, clay, marls and limestone as it subsided. The much older Rhenic Slate Mountains begin just above Hallgarten. Here layers of phyllite alternate with slate. The extremely hard quartzite forms the crest of the Taunus Mountains and ridges such as the Hallgarter Zange.

The gentle foothills of the Taunus Mountains reach down to the Rhine.

Valleys such as the Leimersbach Valley on the left, divide the foothills from each other. The cross section of the valleys is always asymmetrical. This has had a profound effect on the land use in the valleys. This shape is the result of the ice age.
Just as today, the prevailing winds blew from the west. This displaced the streams to the east. Thus the west exposed slopes were undercut, which in turn increased their steepness. This action uncovered the loose deposits of the Tertiary period, marls, clays and sands. Wine is grown here, despite these unfavourable parent materials, because of the better solar radiation.

The old Rhine terrace gravel beds of the hilltops are blanketed by thick loess deposits. The soils of these gently inclined, east exposed slopes are very fertile. However, the micro-climate is somewhat cool. These areas are used for arable farming.  

 

The Hallgarter Zange (580 m above sea level) is the most striking prominence of the Rheingau. The name “Zange” is derived from the Middle High German word “zanke”, which means point or rock spur. A look-out was erected on the Zange in 1884. From here, the visitor can enjoy an impressive panoramic view of the Rheingau and far into Rheinhessen.

The Steinberg is the largest vineyard of the Rheingau, covering an area of 37 ha. Wines from this vineyard may be labelled “Steinberger” without further identification of the wine-growing town. The vineyard was established by the Cistercian monks from Eberbach Monastery, who began to acquire and assemble parcels of land to form one large vineyard from 1170 onwards. Originally the site was surrounded by a large hedge. This was replaced by a 2600 m long stone wall in 1767.

When the Monastery was dissolved in 1803 the Steinberg became a state domain. The buildings of the Domain Neuhof are located along the eastern edge. The Steinberg Cellar was built in 2008 and is the central cellar of the State Wine Estates. Today, the Steinberg is the operational centre of the largest wine estate of the Federal State Wine Estate Eberbach Monastery.

The vineyard Schützenhaus (52 ha) was named after the shelter for the “Grape guard”. The heavy soils of the eastern slopes of the Leimersbach Valley have developed on Tertiary clay marl covered by weathered loess. The wines produced here range from straightforward drinking to the highest quality wines. The vineyard Hassel (33 ha) was named after the hazel.

The deep loess /weathered loess soils yield wines with a juicy and fruity acidity.

Weathered loess
Supplies the vine with everything it needs. The mineral-rich Clay Marl produces wines that reflect the soil conditions. They are balanced, complete, convincingly dense and long wines displaying a wide range of fruit aromas.