The Nonnberg
The Nonnberg in Wicker probably came into the possession of the Abbey of Retters in the first half of the 12^th century. In 1281 the Abbey of Retters and the Cistercian Convent Tiefenthal exchanged property in Wicker. The transaction documents first mention the name Nonnenberg (Nun's Hill). For centuries the Nonnberg remained in possession of the nuns until the Convent Tiefenthal was expropriated in 1803 as a result of the secularisation.

From 1806 onwards, Philipp Cramer, a trader from Mainz, purchased vineyards in Wicker on a grand scale. In order to improve the orientation of the vineyard towards southwest to achieve optimal solar radiation, he carried out extensive earth works on the Nonnberg. The vineyard wall was constructed in 1817. Cramer used the stones from the demolished outlook tower Flörsheimer Warte.

Family Joachim Flick, who have been running their wine-growing estate in the Strassenmühle in Wicker since 1994, purchased the Nonnberg in 2004.

Cyrena Marl – fresh and salty relics of an ocean

Between 38 and 12 million years ago, a shallow marine basin occupied the whole of what is known today as Rheinhessen and parts of the Rheingau region. The basin developed as a result of the formation of the Upper Rhine Rift Valley. As global sea levels rose, marine waters inundated the Mainz Basin for a few million years. Later, the sea receded and a landscape of rivers and lakes developed.

The Wickerer Berg is composed of Cyrena marl, a brackish water sediment from the period of the receding sea. Sometimes grey-green, grey-blue or yellowish-green in colour, these marls contain a high proportion of silt and calcium carbonate.