Franconia (German: ''Franken'') is a region for quality
wine in Germany situated in the north west of
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
in the district of
Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper F ...
, and is the only wine region in the federal state of Bavaria. In 2014, vines were grown on of land in the region.
Geography
The greater part of the wine region is situated in the ''
Regierungsbezirk
A ' () means "governmental district" and is a type of administrative division in Germany. Four of sixteen ' ( states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts.
Saxony has ' (directorate districts) with more res ...
'' of
Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia.
History
After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was total ...
around its capital
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the '' Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzbur ...
along the
Main River
Main rivers () are a statutory type of watercourse in England and Wales, usually larger streams and rivers, but also some smaller watercourses. A main river is designated by being marked as such on a main river map, and can include any structure o ...
. There are a few areas in
Middle Franconia
Middle Franconia (german: Mittelfranken, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the west of Bavaria and borders the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; however, ...
, mainly in the
Steigerwald; and a very small part in the area of
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) is a '' Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle ...
around
Bamberg
Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...
. The bends of the River Main have been used to define the region's three districts, two of which take their names from their respective geometric shape.
''Mainviereck'' District
The Mainviereck ("Main square") is the westernmost district of Franconia, on the lower slopes of the
Spessart
Spessart is a '' Mittelgebirge'', a range of low wooded mountains, in the States of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg at 586 metres above sea level.
Et ...
hills and is one of the warmest spots in Bavaria. The special soil is mainly red sandstone which is especially suitable for growing grape vines for red wine. Franconian vine plantings for red wine started to expand in the 1970s.
[Dr. Hermann Kolesch: ''Der Weinbau in Franken, Stand 3/2007''](_blank)
The
Pinot noir
Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...
s and the rare but high quality grape ''
Frühburgunder'' are grown. The "
Bürgstadt
Bürgstadt is a market community in the Miltenberg district in the '' Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and the seat of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (Administrative Community) of Erftal. Bürgsta ...
er Centgrafenberg" and the "Schlossberg" in
Klingenberg am Main
Klingenberg am Main is a town in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 6,200 and is located on both banks of the river Main.
Geography Loc ...
are said to be the best vineyards. Some of the wines made from vines grown there have won national and international wine trophies. The most important villages are Bürgstadt,
Großheubach
Großheubach (or ''Grossheubach'') is a market community in the Miltenberg district in the '' Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany.
Geography
Location
Großheubach lies on the right bank of the Ma ...
and Klingenberg am Main.
The main red wine areas of Franconia have been connected by the long-distance hiking trail ''Fränkischer Rotweinwanderweg'' (Franconian red wine footpath) since 1990.
''Maindreieck'' District
The ''Maindreieck'' ("Main triangle") is the middle portion of Franconia. On the sometimes very steep hills alongside the Main river, the soil mainly consists of
Muschelkalk
The Muschelkalk (German for "shell-bearing limestone"; french: calcaire coquillier) is a sequence of sedimentary rock strata (a lithostratigraphic unit) in the geology of central and western Europe. It has a Middle Triassic (240 to 230 million yea ...
. Mostly
Silvaner and
Müller-Thurgau grapes are grown. As in many wine regions in Germany, a wide variety of grapes are cultivated.
Riesling
Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...
,
Bacchus
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...
,
Pinot noir
Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...
,
Domina, and
Dornfelder are the most important grapes besides Silvaner and Müller-Thurgau. Some wine journalists say that Franconia is the only place in the world where the Silvaner wine can be better than the king of German wines, the Riesling.
The best-known vineyard site is the ''
Würzburger Stein'', a hill north of central Würzburg. The wines from there are known as ''Steinwein''. Along the ''Maindreieck'', nearly every town produces some wine. The earliest evidence of the Silvaner grape is found in the archive of
Castell
A ''castell'' () is a human tower built traditionally at festivals in Catalonia, the Balearic islands and the Valencian Community.
At these festivals, several ''colles castelleres'' (teams that build towers) attempt to build and dismantle a ...
in a document from 10 April 1659.
The most important cities and towns are
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the '' Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzbur ...
,
Randersacker
Randersacker is a market town and municipality in Lower Franconia, a part of Bavaria, Germany. With its long tradition in wine making, Randersacker is a well-known wine places of Germany. It lies in the Würzburg district, and adjoins to Wür ...
,
Thüngersheim,
Sommerhausen,
Frickenhausen am Main,
Sulzfeld am Main
Sulzfeld am Main is a municipality in the district of Kitzingen in Bavaria in Germany.
Mayor
*1984–2020: Gerhard Schenkel (born 1955), he was reelected in 1990, 1996, 2002, 2008 and 2014.
*since 2020: Matthias Dusel (born 1968)
Referenc ...
,
Sommerach
Sommerach is a municipality in the district of Kitzingen in Bavaria in Germany.
Geography
Sommerach is located on the southern part of the river Main loop on the so-called Wine Island ("Weininsel"). It is 3 km (2 mi.) away from the m ...
,
Escherndorf,
Nordheim, and
Volkach
Volkach is a town in the district of Kitzingen in the ''Regierungsbezirk Unterfranken'' (Lower Franconia) in Bavaria, Germany. It lies on the river Main and has a population of around 8,700.
History
Located outside the town but inside the mun ...
.
''Steigerwald'' District
The soil of the ''
Mittelgebirge
A ''Mittelgebirge'' (German: ''Mittel'', "middle/medium"; ''Gebirge'', "mountain range") is a type of relatively low mountain range or highland area typical of the geography of central Europe, especially central and southern Germany; it refers to ...
'' Steigerwald consists mainly of
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and dr ...
. The wines of this region often have a very strong mineral taste. The most important villages are
Iphofen
Iphofen is a town in the district of Kitzingen in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 4,500. Iphofen is known for its rare complete medieval town wall and other historic buildings as well as for being a location of wine production.
G ...
,
Rödelsee and
Castell
A ''castell'' () is a human tower built traditionally at festivals in Catalonia, the Balearic islands and the Valencian Community.
At these festivals, several ''colles castelleres'' (teams that build towers) attempt to build and dismantle a ...
History
There is evidence that wine has been produced in Franconia for over 1,000 years. In an old document from the year 777 there is a note of a
winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...
being given by
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...
to
Fulda Abbey
The Abbey of Fulda (German ''Kloster Fulda'', Latin ''Abbatia Fuldensis''), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda (''Fürstabtei Fulda'') and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (''Fürstbistum Fulda''), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastic ...
. This is the town of
Hammelburg
Hammelburg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It sits in the district of Bad Kissingen, in Lower Franconia. It lies on the river Franconian Saale, 25 km west of Schweinfurt. Hammelburg is the oldest winegrowing town (''Weinstadt'') in Franco ...
. In medieval times the area under cultivation grew strongly, up to 40,000
ha. In the 20th century it decreased at one stage to just over 2,000 ha.
Today about 6,100 ha of land is used for growing wine. The area stretches from Bamberg to
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat.
Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...
. The climate is called
continental with
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...
influence. Quite often there are strong winters and temperatures under 0 degrees Celsius in the spring. Therefore, wine is grown mainly in especially protected places usually along the hills of the River Main and the Steigerwald.
Description of Franconian wine
Because of the special soil and the mild climate along the Main river, wines with a very high mineralisation can be harvested. The amount of minerals in the wine is a factor in the quality testing every Franconian wine is subjected to. This is unique in Germany. The majority of the wines are made from one grape variety at a time.
Cuvées are rare. It is said that the wines of the typical Silvaner are the best wines from this grape in the world.
Most Franconian wines are dry. Although in German law dry wines are allowed 9 grams of
residual sugar
The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, wh ...
, many German wineries are still using the term ''Fränkisch trocken'' (Franconian dry) for wines with 5 grams of residual sugar or less. About 12,000 to 14,000 wines from Franconia pass the official testing.
As in most German wine regions, the exact vineyard site (''Lage'') where the wine comes from is nearly as important as the winery. Apart from the Steinwein, very few people outside Franconia – and nearly no one outside Germany – is familiar with the site names, mainly because the German ''Lagen'' are tiny compared to some of the well-known
appellation
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...
s of France, Italy, and Spain. Today many wineries have tried to introduce their own brands without the vineyard designation, and with cuvées a brand name rather than a single grape varietal.
Franconian wines vary in how long they can be kept. The basic wines, which are called
Qualitätswein or Kabinett are made to be drunk one to three years after production. If they are kept too long, the wines lose their typical fruitiness and freshness. The best wines are mainly the dry
Spätlesen which are full-bodied and can mature for up to six, sometimes ten years. The rare sweet wines often with
noble rot
Noble rot (french: pourriture noble; german: Edelfäule; it, Muffa nobile; hu, Aszúsodás) is the beneficial form of a grey fungus, '' Botrytis cinerea'', affecting wine grapes. Infestation by ''Botrytis'' requires moist conditions. If the w ...
, and
Eisweins, can sometimes mature for 50 years or more. Oak matured red wines should be drunk three to ten years after production if kept in a good wine cellar.
Grape varieties
Originally the Silvaner was the most important grape. In the 20th century the Müller-Thurgau, a simple grape, has been planted in large areas. Although the amount of Müller Thurgau has been decreasing for the last ten years, it is still the most widely cultivated grape in Franconia.
Red grape varties cover 20% of the region's vineyard area.
The most cultivated grape varieties, by area in 2014, were:
[Bayerische Landesanstalt für Weinbau und Gartenbau: Franconian grapes by are 2014](_blank)
/ref>
The Bocksbeutel
The rounded and flattened ''Bocksbeutel'' is the typical and well known bottle originally used only for the best Franconian wines. Since 1989 the use of the Bocksbeutel has been protected by European Union regulations, but some other regions beside Franconia are also allowed to use this bottle shape.
Wine and lifestyle
The growing of wine influenced the lifestyle of the people living in the area. Unlike many other German wine regions, a large amount of Franconian wine is drunk in the area where it is produced. Nearly every town has its own ''Weinfest'', a festival that lasts a weekend, or sometimes just one day, where wine is drunk instead of beer. The so-called '' Heckenwirtschaften'' are very popular small outlets where wineries sell their own wine, usually at low prices.
See also
* Franconian Wine Queen
The Franconian Wine Queen (german: Fränkische Weinkönigin) is the annually-elected representative of the German wine region of Franconia. At the end of her time in office, she is eligible to participate in the competition for the German Wine Q ...
References and notes
External links (German)
Weinbaugebiet Franken
Winzergemeinschaft Franken (GWF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franconia (Wine Region)
Geography of Bavaria
Wine regions of Germany