Location and landscape
Appenweier is a municipality in the Ortenau district of Baden-Württemberg and lies in the Ortenau region of the Badish wine-growing region. The municipality is situated at the transition between the Upper Rhine Plain and the foothills of the Black Forest; its eastern area extends into the crystalline Black Forest.
The municipal area covers 38.08 square kilometres and lies at elevations between 147 and 392 metres above sea level. To the north-east of Appenweier, the Rench leaves the mountain zone of the Black Forest. Streams flowing out of the Black Forest have, in the west of the municipality, formed a moist low-lying zone. The lower foothills are covered with loess, while the south- and west-facing vineyard slopes at the head of the Wannenbach valley are on granite.
Viticulture
In the Wannenbach valley, vines are cultivated on the south- and west-facing slopes. Viticulture in the Ortsteil of Nesselried has been documented since 1411. The Einzellage Renchtäler is assigned, under the wine-growing site ordinance of Baden-Württemberg, to the Ortenau area and includes the Ortsteil of Nesselried. An official designation decision from 2023 assigned certain parcels of the Nesselried cadastral area to this Einzellage and the Großlage Fürsteneck.
History
Appenweier was first mentioned in 884 under the historic name Abbunuuileri. Until 1805, the municipality belonged to the bailiwick of Ortenau and was subsequently part of the Grand Duchy of Baden. Nesselried was incorporated in 1971, Urloffen in 1975.
