Steigerwald

The German growing region of Franconia used to be divided into the three areas of Maindreieck, Mainviereck and Steigerwald with 23 Großlagen and 216 Einzellagen. In November 2011, the members of the Franconian Winegrowers' Association decided on a new arrangement. The three old areas will be replaced by 12 much smaller ones. These will also replace the 23 large vineyards in the medium to long term. The old areas once played a role in the predominant marketing of Franconian table wine, but they had lost that role for some time. Before this conversion, the following description applied to the Steigerwald area:

The Steigerwald area is located in the east and comprises over 1,500 hectares of vineyards. It also includes a section of the Tauber valley in the headwaters of the Tauber near Rothenburg. The predominant soil type is heat-storing gypsum keuper. Layers of this formation are called "Steigen" (hence Steigerwald). These are the highest Franconian vineyards up to almost 400 metres above sea level. The most common varieties are Müller-Thurgau with 35%, Silvaner and Bacchus. The area is divided into nine major vineyards: Burgberg, Burgweg, Herrenberg, Kapellenberg, Schild, Schloßberg, Schloßstück, Steige and Zabelstein.