single vineyard in the municipality of Assmannshausen (district of Rüdesheim) in the German wine-growing region of Rheingau. The name is not derived from the place of horror, but from the Old High German "Helda" for slag heap or steep slope. There is documentary evidence that the Pinot Noir variety has been cultivated here since at least 1470. In 1814, on the occasion of his trip to the Rhine, the wine connoisseur and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), who otherwise preferred white wines, praised the Höllenberg red wine in the highest terms.
The south- and southwest-facing vineyards at 80 to 300 metres above sea level extend from the Rhine to a side valley and cover 46 hectares of vineyards. With slopes ranging from 30 to 60%, the site is one of the steepest vineyards in Germany. The microclimate is positively influenced by the Rhine. The medium to deep soils consist of violet-coloured, leafy layers of weathered Taunus phyllite slate with admixtures of loess loam with a high heat storage capacity. Due to its excellent suitability for red wine,Pinot Noir is cultivated here, but also Riesling. The wineries Allendorf, Chat Sauvage, Dr. Corvers-Kauter, Hessische Staatsweingüter, Johanninger, Kesseler, König Klaus & Ursula, König Robert, Krone, Künstler Gunter, G.H. von Mumm, Ress Balthasar, Schloss Schönborn and Wilhelm Mohr Erben all have shares in the vineyard.
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