Asbach 'Uralt' Weinbrand, Germany

Rüdesheim is a town on the northern banks of the Rhine river in the wine-growing region of Rheingau, Germany. It is located at around 50 degrees northern latitude, just west of Geisenheim. The area was first settled by Celts, followed by the Romans in the 1st century, who brought with them their wine-making knowledge, as evidenced in the local wine museum. Today the town attracts three million tourists per year, many of whom come for the rich wine tradition in the steep vineyards in the surrounding Taunus mountains.

Rüdesheim hosts 11 registered single vineyard sites, although only five of these are classified by the VDP as Erste Lage – Klosterlay, Bischofsberg, Berg Rottland, Berg Roseneck and Berg Schlossberg.

Klosterlay is attached to the former Benedictine monastery, now the Abbey Church of St Hildegard, to the north of the town. It is named after the lay rock found not only in the vineyard, but also on the roofs and tiles of the surrounding villages. It is a south-facing site that produces mineral-expressive wines that reflect their rocky origins.

Bischofsberg (Bishop's Mountain) is the westernmost Rheingau vineyard to rest on sedimentary soils. Beyond this site lie rocky formations that do not retain water as well as their softer counterparts. Bischofsberg is protected by the hills from the cold northern wind, and utilizes an east-west breeze that restrains the typical morning mist and keeps the vines dry.

Berg Rottland is on the w more ...