Wineries
Since 2009, wine-growers have been successfully growing vines in Schleswig-Holstein’s vineyards – in spite of the salty air, strong winds and the all too familiar, foul weather.
When wine-growing is mentioned, do you think of the vineyards on the Mosel and Rhine, the small, cosy wine shop in Toscana or the many international wine labels stocked by the wine dealer of your trust? But did you know that grapes are also cultivated professionally in Schleswig-Holstein? Yes, you heard right! It all began in 2009 when Rheinland-Palatinate transferred part of its unused cultivation rights, ten hectares of wine-growing area to be exact, to the northernmost federal state. There are precise regulations in the European Union governing where and how many vines can be cultivated.
But that is by no means all. From a legal perspective, Schleswig-Holstein’s vineyards are not wine-growing areas but designated as table wine areas. Consequently, the wine produced may only be marketed as a table wine and not as a quality wine. Nevertheless, the number of vines and the area in which table wine may be grown in the real North increases by one hectare every year, with the result that now wine is produced on almost 30 hectares. By comparison: In other wine-growing areas in Germany, the areas concerned lie between 450 and around 26,000 hectares. This makes Schleswig-Holstein one of the smaller wine-growing areas.