Astheimer Karthäuser

The vineyard in front of the village of Astheim

Astheimer Karthäuser is one of the most famous vineyards in the Franconian wine- growing region . It is located in the outskirts of the Volkach district of Astheim in the Kitzingen district .

Geographical location and geology

The vineyard is at the apex of the Volkacher Mainschleife and is framed by water on two sides, in the north and south. It occupies the eastern slope of the so-called Escherndorfer Berg or Vogelsberg. The location is divided into two parts by the state road St2260. The village of Astheim is further east. The district of Escherndorf begins in the west , the Vogelsburg and the Pforte vineyards are closest to the Karthäuser.

The vines were planted on very loamy soil and the alluvial sands of the Main. They grow on rocks of the shell limestone and the Lettenkeuper . Both types of rock are known for their good water storage, and they also offer good opportunities for storing heat. The Karthauser is suitable for growing the warmth-loving Burgundy . Today the site covers approx. 55 hectares and is part of the large Volkacher Kirchberg site in the Volkacher Mainschleife area .

history

The grapevine was first identified on the Main Loop in 906. In a document, King Ludwig confirmed the child that his father had donated to the Fulda monastery . In addition to several places, vineyards around the Vogelsburg had come to the Bonifatius Abbey. It is likely, however, that the wine was brought to the region by the Franconian settlers as early as the 7th century .

As early as the 10th century, the Astheim population lived mainly from viticulture and fishing in the Main. This good economic starting point also led to the fact that the village was acquired by Erkinger von Seinsheim at the beginning of the 15th century and given a Carthusian monastery . The Carthusian monks took over most of the arable land in the village and introduced new cultivation methods from France .

In the early modern period , Astheim was shaped by viticulture. Several municipal offices had been created to better market the Carthusian wine. A sub-buyer ensured the consistent quality of the wines, while Ungelder levied a consumption tax. The Schröter was responsible for selling the wine in barrels of the same size. The Astheim population had to cultivate the monks' vineyards as a so-called gentlemen's service.

The persistently good wine years in the 1680s meant that the population increasingly looked after their own vineyards and neglected the mountains of dominion . At times, day laborers were also recruited, mainly from Untereisenheim . In 1797, the Astheim wines were described as "very sweet" sand wines . In 1800 the Astheim wines were said to be "soon drinkable".

After the dissolution of the monastery in the course of secularization at the beginning of the 19th century, viticulture in Astheim fell into a crisis. The vines were outdated and the monastery ceased to be a sales market. In the years before, worse locations had also been planted with vines. From 1900 phylloxera appeared in Astheim and many vineyards were abandoned. It was not until the 1880s that viticulture was able to stabilize.

In the 20th century, the Astheim district consisted of a total of 45 vineyards with different names. These included the nearby locations “Beutel”, “Ochsen” and “Venusberg” and locations such as the “Piece”, the “Ant Ditch” or the “Stetten” on the ridge north of the Vogelsburg. In the implementation of the Wine Law of 1971, all locations were combined to form the single location Astheimer Karthäuser. Red wine has also been grown since 1985.

Wineries (selection)

Several renowned wineries now own vines on the eastern slope of the Vogelsberg. In addition to some locally recognized businesses, there are also a number of nationally known winegrowers and excellent goods in Astheim:

Johannes Büttner winery, Astheim
Clemens Fröhlich winery, Escherndorf
Thomas Leipold winery, Astheim
Menz Winery, Astheim
Juliusspital winery , Würzburg
Winzergemeinschaft Franken , Repperndorf

The Karthäuser was classified as first location by the Association of German Predicate and Quality Wineries .

literature

Christa Benedum, Karl-Peter Büttner, Gerhard Egert, Franz Pfrang, Werner Stahr: Astheim and his Charterhouse . Wuerzburg 1991.
Gerhard Egert: Astheim . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop. 1978-1992 . Volkach 2008. pp. 208-215.
Barbara Holtz: The vineyard names in the Kitzingen district . In: Andreas Pampuch (Hrsg.): Nature and landscape of the district of Kitzingen II. Volume . Kitzingen 1981. pp. 124-160.
Franz Pfrang: The history of viticulture on the Main loop . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Our Main Loop. 1978-1992 . Volkach 2008. pp. 23-28.