Hochheim am Main

The Rheingau is the stretch beyond Wiesbaden where the Rhine changes direction for almost 30 kilometers and flows from east to west, and the region begins in Hochheim just past the Main, which flows directly into the Rhine at the eastern bend. The region's hillside runs along the northern bank of the river from Wicker and Hochheim, near the confluence of the Main and Rhine, to the bend at Rüdesheim and on to Lorchhausen. Around 220 hectares of vineyards lie in Hochheim. The VDP classification lists Hochheimer Domdechaney, Herrnberg, Kirchenstück, Stein and Stielweg as VDP.Erste Lage sites, and Dompräsenz, Hölle, Kirchenstück im Stein, Königin Victoriaberg and Reichestal in Hochheim am Main as VDP.Grosse Lage sites.

• Eastern start of the Rheingau: the region begins in Hochheim just past the Main
• Vineyard area: around 220 hectares in Hochheim
• Both the Kirchenstück and the Domdechaney are overlooked by Hochheim's parish church of St. Peter and Paul
• Wicker and Hochheim, near the confluence of the Main and Rhine, mark the eastern end of the Rheingau's hillside

Both vineyards face south and are sheltered by the town. The Kirchenstück descends southward at the foot of the Taunus into the wide Rhine-Main plain, where the sun shines on it and warms it all day; to the north, the town of Hochheim protects its 8 hectares from downslope winds. It lies at 100 to 120 meters above sea level on a moderately steep 30 percent slope, and its soils are mainly medium-heavy loess loam and clay marl over a deep, water-retaining subsoil. The Domdechaney faces south toward the Main in the lee of Hochheim's town wall, which shelters it from north winds. Its 10.5 hectares are gently undulating, with a 0 to 10 percent gradient at 110 meters, on soils ranging from sandy to heavy loam, loess loam and clay marl, partly calcareous, with a high water-holding capacity that benefits the vines in dry years; the sheltered microclimate means there is hardly any frost risk. In Decanter's 'Rheingau: High and dry' (last updated 2020), Stephen Brook wrote that to the east the sheltered sedimentary soils at Hochheim give the richest, most robust wines of the region.

• Kirchenstück: south-facing, 100 to 120 meters, 30 percent gradient, mainly medium-heavy loess loam and clay marl
• Domdechaney: south-facing toward the Main, 110 meters, 0 to 10 percent gradient, sandy to heavy loam, loess loam and clay marl, partly calcareous
• Weingut Künstler describes sandy loess under its Kirchenstück, and loess loam mixed with older Main gravels under its Domdechaney, both improved with applied calcareous clay marl
• Domdechant Werner describes loess and loam over a limestone subsoil in its Kirchenstück, and heavy clay marl with limestone in its Domdechaney

Riesling is the classified variety at Hochheimer Kirchenstück, Hochheimer Domdechaney, Kirchenstück im Stein and Dompräsenz. Domdechant Werner farms 12.60 hectares, planted to 98 percent Riesling and 2 percent Spätburgunder. Weingut Künstler describes its Kirchenstück Riesling as lighter and acid-driven, with a refreshing acidity and mineral aromas accompanied by notes of honeydew melon, apricot and peach, and its Domdechaney Riesling as full-bodied, with ripe-fruit aromas such as honeydew melon or lychee, pronounced minerality and a marked but soft acidity. Domdechant Werner calls its Kirchenstück Riesling elegant and complex with a fine minerality. In its Domdechaney, grapes ripen slowly until late October or even November, and overripe berries yield sweet Auslese and Beerenauslese.

• Classified variety at Kirchenstück, Domdechaney, Kirchenstück im Stein and Dompräsenz: Riesling
• Domdechant Werner: 12.60 hectares, 98 percent Riesling and 2 percent Spätburgunder
• Weingut Künstler lists its Hochheimer Kirchenstück 'Im Stein' and Hochheimer Domdechaney dry Rieslings at 12.5 percent alcohol, and its Kirchenstück Riesling GG and Domdechaney 'Dompräsenz' at 13.5 percent
• Domdechaney sweet wines: at Domdechant Werner, late-ripening, overripe berries yield Auslese and Beerenauslese

Wine was most likely already grown in Hochheim in Roman times, local viticulture is documented since 1329, and a vineyard hoe stands for viticulture in the town's coat of arms. The Domdechaney was formerly property of the Mainz cathedral chapter: the Mainz Domdechant (cathedral dean) had his summer residence right by the vineyard next to the church, had what was then a short steep slope reshaped with earth fill into a gentle incline, and irrigated the vines with water from the Main in hot years as early as the 18th century. The Deutsches Weininstitut (DWI) credits Hochheim, more than any other place, with making German wine known in England. Wine from Hochheim am Main, called 'hock', was one of Queen Victoria's favourite wines, and the word was and still is generally used for German white or Rhine wines, though the DWI adds that very few Englishmen or Americans are likely to associate 'hock' with the town. In 1845 the Queen visited Hochheim with Prince Albert and was treated to a tasting in today's Königin-Victoriaberg; the owner, Georg Michael Papstmann, obtained royal permission to name the vineyard after her, and the monument was unveiled on 24 May 1854, the Queen's 35th birthday. Thomas Jefferson visited in 1788, tasted an old Hochheim wine of the 1726 vintage and bought 100 vines for his garden.

• Viticulture: most likely Roman; documented locally since 1329
• The Domdechaney formerly belonged to the Mainz cathedral chapter
• 'Hock': wine from Hochheim am Main was called hock, and the word was and still is generally used for German white or Rhine wines
• Queen Victoria visited in 1845; the Königin-Victoriaberg is a five-hectare vineyard, with its monument unveiled on 24 May 1854
• Thomas Jefferson visited in 1788 and bought 100 vines

The VDP classification is, in the VDP's own words, not stipulated in German wine law but reflects its own private regulations; the VDP awards its VDP.Grosse Lage designation only to what it considers the very best vineyards. In the VDP classification, Hochheimer Kirchenstück (7.98 hectares classified) and Hochheimer Domdechaney (7.71 hectares classified) are VDP.Erste Lage sites, while KIRCHENSTÜCK IM STEIN (7.47 hectares) and DOMPRÄSENZ (2.35 hectares) are VDP.Grosse Lage sites. The VDP estates listed as working in Hochheimer Kirchenstück are Künstler and Domdechant Werner; in Hochheimer Domdechaney, Kloster Eberbach, Künstler and Domdechant Werner; in Kirchenstück im Stein, Domdechant Werner; and in Dompräsenz, Domdechant Werner and Kloster Eberbach. Domdechant Werner'sches Weingut has been family-owned since 1780, when the father of Dr. Franz Werner, dean of Mainz cathedral, acquired the Hochheim estate; it is run today by the seventh and eighth generations, Dr. Franz Werner Michel and his daughter Catharina Mauritz, and by the estate's chronicles its first wine auction took place in 1795. It farms 2.6 hectares in Kirchenstück, 2.3 in Domdechaney and 3.4 in Hölle, and has been a VDP member since 1927. Weingut Künstler was re-founded in Hochheim in 1965 by Franz Künstler after the family's expropriation and expulsion from its earlier homeland; Gunter Künstler has run it since 1992 with his wife Monika, the estate joined the VDP in 1994, and it farms 2.4 hectares of Kirchenstück and 0.3 hectares of Domdechaney. Weingut Joachim Flick of Wicker holds the Königin Victoriaberg as a monopoly site; the family has grown wine in Wicker since 1650 and farms just under 20 hectares from Wicker through Hochheim to Lorch.

• VDP.Erste Lage: Hochheimer Kirchenstück (7.98 ha classified) and Hochheimer Domdechaney (7.71 ha classified)
• VDP.Grosse Lage: KIRCHENSTÜCK IM STEIN (7.47 ha) and DOMPRÄSENZ (2.35 ha)
• Weingut Künstler lists a Kirchenstück Riesling GG under VDP.Grosse Lage
• Domdechant Werner (family-owned since 1780), Weingut Künstler (re-founded in Hochheim in 1965) and Weingut Joachim Flick (Königin Victoriaberg monopoly) all farm in Hochheim

Primary sources (Deutsches Weininstitut, the VDP and the named producers' own sites): https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-regions/highlight-of-wine-culture/398/k%C3%B6nigin-victoria-denkmal-im-rheingau, https://www.vdp.de/de/die-weine/weinbergonline/lage/7088-hochheimer-kirchenstueck, https://www.vdp.de/de/die-weine/weinbergonline/lage/7016-hochheimer-domdechaney, https://www.vdp.de/de/die-weine/weinbergonline/lage/7087-kirchenstueck-im-stein, https://www.vdp.de/de/die-weine/weinbergonline/lage/7018-dompraesenz, https://www.vdp.de/de/die-winzer/rheingau/domdechant-werner, https://domdechantwerner.com/history/?lang=en, https://domdechantwerner.com/vineyards/?lang=en, https://www.weingut-kuenstler.de/weinlagen/hochheim/kirchenstueck.html, https://www.weingut-kuenstler.de/weinlagen/hochheim/domdechaney.html, https://www.weingut-kuenstler.de/weingut.html, https://www.weingut-kuenstler.de/online-shop/weine/weissweine.html, https://shop.flick-wein.de/lagen/, https://shop.flick-wein.de/weingut/, https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-regions/growing-area/69/rheingau, https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/the-vdpregions/rheingau, https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/classification. Secondary source: https://www.decanter.com/features/rheingau-high-and-dry-248976/. Last verified 2026-10-05