Monday 25 September 2006

Côtes de Weil 2

Weiler Schipf is the steep vineyard overlooking town. Back in the 18th century there was an earthslide on this hill that took away a huge portion of vineyard. This was probably caused by the predominantly clay soil and non-porous sandstone underneath becoming saturated with rain. True story!

It is probably no coincidence that the word for “to slide” in the local dialect (Alemannisch) is “schlipfen”.

The main grape varieties in this vineyard are the Pinot varieties, and especially Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder). Facing south to southwest and situated close to the buildings in town below, Weiler Schlipf is a heat trap. With average temperatures and precipitation similar to the levels found in Germany’s warmest town, Ihringen, by the Kaiserstuhl, grapes have little difficulty ripening here.

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