Insights into the river and wine landscape of the Ahr valley

Enjoy the countryside moods and inform yourself about the cultivation areas of the Ahr-wines.

The wine growing area Ahr is Germany's most northern cultivation area. The importance of the cultivation area is based on its great red wines, which were mostly in the last 15 years produced.The cultivation area with ca 520 hectare is filled over 85% with red grapes. The Spätburgunder dominates one of the noblest grapes that find at the Ahr brilliant geological and climatic conditions.TheFrühburgunder, an early ripening mutation of the Spätburgunder, won with over 26 hectare more importance in the last years.


The strategically favoured location of the Ahr with the close proximity to the Cologne/Bonner area was surely in parts responsible for the marketing success of the Ahr-wine.But this is basedmostly on the striving of leadingvineyards to produce outstanding red wines that now count as important wines in the national as well as international comparison.
The wine growing in this northern position is owed to several factors. The fact that the Ahr in its lower course runs in easterly direction and so is availableat the south slopes for wine growing, the Eifel 'range of mountains' and theHohen Venn and gives on its lee-side more sun hours and was probably useful for the Roman legions with wine producing at the front door and saving on transport costs. Historical recorded is the wine growing at the Ahr from the 8th century and goes back to the Franconians.


Visit also the above mentioned WEB page (http://www.ahrxwein.de) by Herrn Bernd Schreiner, who kindly made this information available to us.