Designation for vineyards with a certain slope or inclination, which usually produce better quality wine due to several reasons. The great advantage of slopes, especially in viticulture, was recognised early on. In ancient Rome, the saying "Bacchus amat colles"(Bacchus loves the hills) was coined. Generally speaking, vineyards with a gradient of 5 to 20% (~12°) are considered to be hillside vineyards and those with a gradient of more than this are called steep slopes.

In Germany, around 60% of vineyards are planted on slopes or steep slopes. The picture on the right shows single vineyard Zuckerle in Bad-Cannstadt in the Württemberg wine-growing region. The steepest vineyards in the world include Dézaley (Vaud, Switzerland), as well as in the Mosel (Germany) and Wachau (Austria) growing regions, with slopes of up to 100% (45°). This results in much more intensive exposure to the sun, most strongly on a steep slope facing due south. In such vineyards, monorack railways (single-rail rack-and-pinion railways) are often used. The picture on the left shows one of these at single vineyard Calmont in Bremm in the Moselle wine-growing region.
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Thomas Götz
Weinberater, Weinblogger und Journalist; Schwendi