page_title: Middle Rhine
section_title: Viticulture
hierarchical_section_title: Middle Rhine / Viticulture
caption_attribution_description: Blick von der Rheinbrohler Ley auf Rheinbrohl und Bad Hönningen (inkl. Schloss Arenfels), gegenüber der Hafen von Brohl-Lützing, Burg Rheineck und Bad Breisig.
context_page_description: Between Bingen and Bonn, Germany, the river Rhine flows as the Middle Rhine through the Rhine Gorge, a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river at about its original level, and the surrounding lands raised. This gorge is quite deep, about 130 metres from the top of the rocks down to the average water-line.
  The "Middle Rhine" is one of four sections of the river between Lake Constance and the North Sea. The upper half of the Middle Rhine from Bingen to Koblenz is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with more than 40 castles and fortresses from the Middle Ages and many wine-villages. The lower half from Koblenz to Bonn is famous for the formerly volcanic Siebengebirge with the Drachenfels volcano. Both parts together are known as "the romantic Rhine".
  The Middle Rhine Valley has been a major tourist attraction since the 19th century. It is also home to some 450,000 people. The valley owes its special appearance to both its natural shape and human alterations. For two millennia, it has been one of the most important routes for cultural exchange between the Mediterranean region and northern Europe.
context_section_description: The Middle Rhine geographical region is largely identical to the geographical region to the Middle Rhine wine region, as defined by the German wine law as a specified area for quality wine.
  The Romans introduced viticulture into the Region.  That is, they introduced it into the Moselle valley; it spread into the Middle Rhine Valley during the Middle Ages.  This development took place in four phases from the 11th to the end of the 14th century.  An essential element of this development was the new technique of terrace viticulture.  Vines are grown on terraces sloping from 25° to 30° and more.
  The climate favored wine Production.  The Rhine and the slate and greywacke weathered soils function as a heat storage to prevent large temperature fluctuations.  Additionally, the steep slopes function to drain cold air from the valley.  This is particularly beneficial for the late-ripening Riesling, which is grown on about 68% (stand 2013)  of the total area under viticulture. The terraced vineyards used to be much smaller.  The current situation has emerged only after a land consolidation in the 1960s.  Unfortunately, with the disappearance of the old stone walls, a valuable habitat for microorganisms was lost.  Some old style terraces are still in use in the Middle Rhine Valley.  They continue to use the old technique of binding each vine to a separate pole.
  In the Middle Ages, wine was the only non-germinated storable drink for the common people, as beer was often expensive and of poor quality, water in urban areas was usually polluted and coffee and tea were still unknown.  A regional speciality of the four valleys around Bacharach is Feuerwein, a specially treated wine that was traded far to the North. It now again being manufactured at Posthof in Bacharach.  It was one of the dominant items of trade in the Middle Ages, fostered by the Rhine as the most important waterway, and existing Roman roads.  It was valued by landlords, as growing wine appreciated the value of their land.  The legal, social and economic situation of the workers improved as more and more workers with critical skills were needed.  In the late Middle Ages, the economy flourished and the majority of the population was dependent on wine growing.   After the dissolution of many Lordships, land ownership fragmented and the land was divided into many small parcels.
  By the end of the 16th century this industry was booming.  The Thirty Years' War then caused recession and decline.  Prices of beer, tea and coffee dropped, causing profit margins on wine to shrink.  After 1815, the left bank was Prussian and the economic situation improved.  The 1839 German customs union led to strong competition.  Many farmers found themselves a day job, and grew wine as a secondary occupation.  New sources of income were the sparkling wine industry and wine bars serving tourists attracted by the Rhine romanticism.  After 1870 the railways brought new problems: cheaper and better foreign competition and the advent of vine insects of America and France (powdery mildew, phylloxera, downy mildew and vine moth).  The deeper cause of the decline were the changed socio-economic conditions.  Until the 19th century, there were few other opportunities for paid employment in the Rhine Valley, so many workers migrated to areas where the emerging manufacturing industries were creating new employment opportunities. The economic situation on the left bank improved after the Second World War. Until then, the only industries on the left bank were viticulture and tourism.  In the 1960s, 92% of the slopes was consolidated into larger vineyards.  Nevertheless, the wine industry declined further, due to lack of profits. In 1950 the Mittelrhein region boasted 1,448 hectares (3,580 acres) of vines under cultivation [int. document of the winegrower's association Middle Rhine]. In 1989 it still had 681 hectares (1,680 acres) (−53%). From 1989 to 2009 the total area of viticulture in the Middle Rhine region shrunk by another spiraling −19% to 438 hectares (1,080 acres).
  About 58% of the vineyard area that 
caption: Vineyards and Middle Rhine, view from Rheinbrohler Ley
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