Vogelsang

Vogelsang is a vineyard site in Neustadt an der Weinstraße in the Palatinate. The south-facing site is located at the exit of the Neustadt valley, which leads to clear differences in day and night temperatures. Christmann gives the elevation as 160 to 280 metres, the average slope as 25 per cent and individual sections as up to 50 per cent.

The vineyard is planted on shell limestone, which, according to Christmann, is more than 200 million years old and was exposed when the Upper Rhine Graben sank. The town of Neustadt established Vogelsang in 2018 as a new single vineyard site and assigned it to the collective site of Meerspinne; the municipal announcement states an area of 9.7 hectares. In the VDP profile, 8.52 hectares are classified. Vogelsang is rated as VDP.GROSSE LAGE®; the classified grape varieties are Riesling and Spätburgunder.

Christmann cultivates 2.7 hectares in Vogelsang. Riesling takes up the largest part of the area, especially in the higher areas and on terraces; there, among other things, vines from the years 1982, 1983 and 2019 are planted. In the lower, steep and terraced section, Pinot Noir Massale selections planted in 2019 are grown from the Côte d’Or. The Vogelsang Riesling is completely selectively hand-harvested in small crates and fermented spontaneously in large wooden casks.

Christmann acquired his parcels in Vogelsang in 2017. In the 19th and early 20th century, wines from the site were delivered to the Bavarian royal court and mentioned in poems. Later, the land lay fallow as possible building plots, before a protected status prevented development. For Vogelsang Riesling of the 2021 vintage, Christmann names 8 and 15 October as harvest dates, a bottling in July 2022 and an alcohol content of 12.5 per cent.