Map The Wine

Map / Germany

Rheingau

A small, historic Riesling region on a south-facing stretch of the Rhine near Wiesbaden.

SachsenBayernRheinland-PfalzSaarlandSchleswig-HolsteinNiedersachsenNordrhein-WestfalenBaden-WürttembergBrandenburgMecklenburg-VorpommernBremenHamburgHessenThüringenSachsen-AnhaltBerlinAhrBadenFranconiaHessische BergstraßeMittelrheinMoselNahePalatinateRheinhessenSaale-UnstrutSaxonyWürttembergRheingauRüdesheimJohannisbergEltvilleHochheim
The shaded area contains the region, and the rounded shape shows its rough extent; the gold dot marks its centre. Drag to pan, or use the buttons or Ctrl and scroll to zoom. Other regions of Germany are linked on the map.

Where it is

The Rheingau is a short stretch of the Rhine between Wiesbaden and Lorch in Hesse, where the river runs east-west and the vineyards face south on the Taunus slopes. Eltville, Rüdesheim and Johannisberg are its best-known villages.

History

Monks of Cistercian Kloster Eberbach and others made wine here from the twelfth century. Schloss Johannisberg claims an important role in the history of late harvest Riesling in the 1700s, and the region was among the first in Germany to classify its vineyards.

Grapes and wines

More than three out of four vines are Riesling. Spätburgunder is the leading red, with good wines from Assmannshausen. The region has its own quality designation, Erstes Gewächs, for the best dry wines.