Location and viticulture
Biebelnheim is a wine-growing community in Rheinhessen at the foot of the vineyards Rosenberg and Pilgerstein, near the Petersberg. The municipality has a little more than 200 hectares of vineyard area, which is cultivated by nine wineries and around the same number of amateur winegrowers.
The vineyards
The Pilgerstein extends around Biebelnheim on three sides and comprises 90 hectares at elevations of 145 to 200 metres. Its exposures range from south and south-west to north-west. The Rosenberg is 114 hectares in size, lies at an altitude of 150 to 195 metres and is oriented towards the south-east. Both vineyards, as Biebelnheim single-vineyard sites, belong to the Nierstein area and to the Großlage Petersberg.
Soils and wine style
Deep, calcareous and well-rooting loess-pararendzinas with a high capacity for storing water shape the terroir in the Pilgerstein. The Rosenberg has deep, very calcareous and clay-rich marl pelozems with limited permeability. Burgundy, or Pinot, vines are particularly associated with the calcareous soils of the Pilgerstein; white Burgundy varieties are considered suitable in both vineyards. Red wine has traditionally played an important role in Biebelnheim; today, roughly half of the vineyard area is devoted to red and the other half to white grape varieties. The wines of the Pilgerstein are associated with a mineral character, while the Rosenberg stands for a full-bodied, dense style with moderate acidity.
History of the vineyards
Biebelnheim has been documented since the 12th century; a feudal register from 1190 names Werner II of Bolanden as the owner of extensive holdings in the town. From 1391 until the French occupation in 1798, Biebelnheim belonged to the Electorate of the Palatinate and in 1816 became part of the newly created province of Rheinhessen. The Pilgerstein has been documented since 1555 and is linked by name with the historic Pilgerweg through the wine-growing region. The Rosenberg was mentioned in 1591 as “am Rosenberg”. Historically, rose bushes stood at the ends of the rows in this area as an early-warning system against true powdery mildew.
