The wine and Gutenberg town Eltville is the oldest and biggest town of the Rheingau with approx. 18000 inhabitants. The oldest relics of human settlement date back to the early Stone Age. A Roman farmhouse was also discovered here. During the Middle Ages until 1480 Eltville was the residency of the archbishops of Mainz. The town wall (1332) and the Electorate Castle (1347) were built under their patronage. Today the town still possesses numerous historic buildings such as the Electorate Castle, the Stockheimer Hall, Castle Crass and Eltzer Hall.

Grapes need a warm and protected environment to achieve the level of ripeness necessary for producing high-quality wines.
Soil and climate influence vine growth and therefore the quality and character of a wine. In this, vineyard climate plays “first fiddle”
Elevation: Wine does not grow on high hills at our latitude, but on the slopes of the lower river valleys, because: the temperature drops by 0.7° C for each 100 m increase in elevation and this results in a must weight reduction by 3 to 5°degrees Oechsle.
Inclination: Solar radiation is highest on slopes. The steeper angle of incidence of solar radiation means that the grapes receive up to 30% more energy than on level ground. The downward flow of cold air lowers the frost hazard on slopes. Low lying vineyards are moister and more likely to suffer from frosts. 

Exposition: Grapes need a lot of sunshine to ripen fully. South-facing slopes clearly have an edge over others.

Wine does not need a mountain but it does prefer a slope.

The vineyard Eltviller Sonnenberg is an optimal south exposed slope carved into the landscape by the action of the Rhine. 

River landscapes are constantly changing. The river adds sediment to one part of its course, while somewhere else land is removed. And so whole islands are created and disappear again.
Of the 24 point bars that were recorded between Walluf and Bingen in 1573, only 7 have remained after the canalisation of the Rhine. One of these is the Eltviller or Königsklinger Aue.
Over the centuries, this much sought-after island frequently changed names and owners. Berta von Lucius, the later Countess Sierstorpff, inherited the point bar in 1901. She had to leave the island when US troops took possession of the Eltviller Aue in 1945. Today the point bar is privately owned and was declared a nature reserve in 1992.