What is made here
Wine colours
Colours the rules allow. Pick a colour to filter the rules and grapes below.
Where it is
Rheinhessen in Germany
- Latitude
- 49.6°–50.0° N
- Vineyard altitude
- 109 m to 238 m
- Production zone
- 132,616 ha
Boundary drawn from whole communes, so it is a little larger than the legal zone. Boundary: Eurac Research PDO inventory (CC0). Country outlines: Natural Earth. Dots on the zone map are the vineyard points used for climate.
Showing every colour The colour filter changes the rules and grapes. Climate, vintages and soils describe the vineyards, so they stay the same.
01 · What the law says
The rules
Limits on grapes, yields, ripeness and ageing that every wine labelled Rheinhessen must meet.
Other varieties allowed
Besides the main grapes, the rules allow these varieties in some wines. Grape names link where a profile exists.
92 varieties · Rheinhessen Qualitätsschaumwein, Rheinhessen Perlwein
Acolon, Albalonga, Arnsburger, Auxerrois, Bacchus, Blauer Frühburgunder, Blauer Limberger, Blauer Portugieser, Blauer Silvaner, Blauer Trollinger, Blauer Zweigelt, Bolero, Bronner, Cabernet Carbon, Cabernet Cortis, Cabernet Cubin, Cabernet Dorio, Cabernet Dorsa, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Mitos, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Dakapo, Deckrot, Domina, Dornfelder, Dunkelfelder, Ehrenbreitsteiner, Ehrenfelser, Faberrebe, Findling, Freisamer, Früher Roter Malvasier, Färbertraube, Gelber Muskateller, Grüner Silvaner, Grüner Veltliner, Hegel, Helios, Heroldrebe, Hibernal, Huxelrebe, Hölder, Johanniter, Juwel, Kanzler, Kerner, Kernling, Mariensteiner, Merlot, Merzling, Monarch, Morio Muskat, Muller Thurgau, Muskat Ottonel, Müllerrebe, Neronet, Nobling, Orion, Ortega, Palas, Perle, Phoenix, Pinot Noir, Prinzipal, Prior, Regent, Regner, Reichensteiner, Rieslaner, Riesling, Rondo, Rotberger, Roter Muskateller, Roter Traminer, Rubinet, Ruländer, Saint Laurent, Saphira, Sauvignon Blanc, Scheurebe, Schönburger, Septimer, Siegerrebe, Silcher, Sirius, Solaris, Staufer, Syrah, Weißer Burgunder, Weißer Gutedel, Würzer
In the vineyard and cellar: rules for every wine
Allowed
Enrichment (chaptalisation)
02 · Climate fingerprint
The climate
The growing season averages 15.3 °C, intermediate on Gregory Jones's scale, with 1,161 growing degree days (Winkler Ib).
The average year 1991–2020, vineyards at about 163 m
Monthly mean, °CRain, mmGrowing season
- Growing-season temperature
- 15.3 °C
- Intermediate · 15–17 °C (Jones)
- Growing degree days
- 1,161
- Region Ib: 1,111–1,388 degree days
- Growing-season rain
- 413 mm
- Of 699 mm a year
- Harvest rain
- 115 mm
- September–October
Copernicus ERA5-Land monthly averages at 5 vineyard points (Vineyard point 1, 157 m; Vineyard point 2, 181 m; Vineyard point 3, 100 m; Vineyard point 4, 257 m; Vineyard point 5, 120 m), moved to each point's height from the model's terrain. Indices that need daily data are not captured yet. How the climate figures are made.
Closest climates in the database
Picked by the data, not by hand: the profiles nearest on season warmth (counted twice), degree days, rain, ripening-month nights and day–night range. Neighbours within 30 km are left out, as they share the same weather.
1. PfalzVery similarCompared with Rheinhessen: same season warmth, similar rain.
2. BierzoVery similarCompared with Rheinhessen: same season warmth, similar rain.
3. ZnojmoVery similarCompared with Rheinhessen: same season warmth, wetter (+55 mm).
Growing-season temperature
Growing degree days
Growing-season rain
03 · Year by year
35 vintages
Each column is one growing season: heat above or below the 1991–2020 average, and rain at harvest. Pick a year for the details.
Warmer than averageCooler than averageHarvest rain (Sep–Oct)Average harvest rain, 115 mm
2025
- Growing-season temp.
- Growing degree days
- Harvest rain
- Growing-season rain
- September nights
- Hot days and frosts
Seasons are labelled by harvest year (April–October). Year-to-year changes from ERA5-Land; tested against station records in Alto Adige (r = 0.94 for season temperature at Bolzano). Rain varies more locally, so treat single-season rain with some caution. Vintage ratings, harvest dates and frost or hail events have places in the data model but are not loaded yet.
04 · Where the numbers come from
Sources
- A geospatial inventory of regulatory information for wine protected designations of origin in Europe · Candiago et al., Scientific Data 9, 394 (2022); Eurac Research · CC0
- ERA5-Land monthly averaged data (reanalysis-era5-land-monthly-means) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), Climate Data Store · CC BY 4.0 (Copernicus licence)
- OpenStreetMap vineyard areas (landuse=vineyard), from Geofabrik country extracts · OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0
- Copernicus DEM GLO-90 (AWS open data tiles) · European Space Agency / Copernicus · Copernicus DEM licence
- Single document: Rheinhessen (Official Journal C, C/2026/1820, 18.3.2026; and the product specification 'gU Rheinhessen_111216.pdf' from the EU register) · European Union, Official Journal (C series) · EU law (Commission reuse policy)
- Climate profiles calculated by Vinous: method
Still to check (3)
- Generated from EU reference data: check against the current product specification.
- From the specification: Minimum natural alcohol is the lowest variety-specific figure: white Qualitätswein 7.8 % (62 °Oe) for varieties other than Morio Muskat and Riesling; red and rosé 8.8 % (68 °Oe) for Dornfelder and 7.8 % (62 °Oe) for others; Kabinett 10.0 % (76 °Oe) and Spätlese 12.2 % (90 °Oe) for varieties other than those named; Auslese 13.0 % (95 °Oe) for Silvaner and 13.8 % (100 °Oe) for others. Prädikat products cover white and red wines. No analytical limits beyond EU law; wine made without enrichment may exceed 15 % total alcohol. About 207 varieties are permitted (Accent, Acolon, Bacchus, Chardonnay, Dornfelder, Müller Thurgau, Weißer Riesling, Grüner Silvaner and others). National specification: actual alcohol at least 5.5 % vol for Beerenauslese and similar; it gives Spätlese 11.4 % (85 °Oe) for Riesling and Silvaner and Auslese 13.0 % (95 °Oe) for Silvaner. Sweetening only with grape must; partial dealcoholisation, concentration and oak chips not allowed for Prädikatswein; red and white grape products may not be blended except for Rotling. Bottle-fermented Sekt must mature at least 9 months in bottle. Enrichment: Qualitätswein up to 15 % vol; not Prädikatswein.
- National tier (DOC/DOCG) not captured yet; rules extracted from the specification text.