single vineyard in the two municipalities of Steinbach and Umweg (Ortenau area) in the German wine-growing region of Baden. The name goes back to the twelve "Steckhaufen" (12 vine stakes, around 30 ares) of vines that Margrave Karl von Baden I (1427-1475) gave to his master chef Hans Stich den Buben in 1474 as a fief for his "getruwen willigen Dienste". The site was greatly expanded in the course of land consolidation in 1971.
The south-southeast to west-facing vineyards with slopes of up to 50% cover 82 hectares of vines. The deep soils of weathered porphyry and granite with clay and sand are of volcanic origin. The original, historic Gewann is considered the best area. The Riesling variety is mainly cultivated here. Members of the Baden-Baden winegrowers' cooperative and the Fendt Weinfamilie (Steinbach), Nägelsförst (Umweg) and Nieger Sven (Umweg) wineries, for example, have shares in the site.
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Markus J. Eser
Weinakademiker und Herausgeber „Der Weinkalender“