Ürziger Würzgarten
UER-tsee-ger VUERTZ-gar-ten
The 'Spice Garden' of the Middle Mosel, where red, iron-rich volcanic soils produce Rieslings with exotic, spicy aromas.
Ürziger Würzgarten is a steep, red amphitheatre of vines in the Middle Mosel village of Ürzig, directly on the Mosel across from the village of Erden. The VDP gives the whole Würzgarten vineyard as 53 hectares (VDP site profile, no year given) and calls its VDP.GROSSE LAGE the prime parcel within it. The VDP says high iron oxide concentrations give the vineyard its colour, and Moselwein e.V. says rhyolite of volcanic origin occurs only in Ürzig.
Location and Setting
Ürzig is among the villages Jancis Robinson names in the Middle Mosel stretch, alongside Bernkastel, Wehlen and Erden. The VDP describes the Würzgarten as a bright red, very steep, south to southeast facing amphitheatre across from the village of Erden, directly on the Mosel River, climbing from 110 to 220 metres above sea level at gradients of up to 80 percent. Dr. Loosen says the vineyard lies just upstream from the vineyards of Erden. Weingut Mönchhof gives the same south to southeast aspect and a gradient of up to 80 percent, but an elevation of 110 to 200 metres.
- Village of Ürzig, Middle Mosel (Jancis Robinson)
- South to southeast facing amphitheatre across from Erden (VDP)
- 110 to 220 metres elevation, slopes of 20 to 80 percent (VDP site profile)
- Just upstream from the vineyards of Erden (Dr. Loosen)
- The VDP describes a bright red, very steep, south to southeast facing amphitheatre across from the village of Erden, directly on the Mosel River
- VDP.GROSSE LAGE: the VDP calls it the prime parcel in the 53-hectare Würzgarten vineyard (VDP site profile, no year given)
- Soil (VDP): weathered red slate debris with high rock content; the site profile lists red volcanic soil and slate
- Moselwein e.V. says rhyolite, a rock of volcanic origin, occurs only in the commune of Ürzig
- Elevation 110 to 220 metres above sea level, with gradients of up to 80 percent (VDP)
- The VDP lists Riesling as the graded vine, planted and trained on individual posts
- The VDP says the name stems from the medieval tradition of making 'Würzweine' or 'spiced wines', with herb gardens planted in vineyards like Würzgarten
Soils: The Red Rock Foundation
The VDP describes the soil of the Grosse Lage as weathered red slate debris with high rock content, and says high iron oxide concentrations lend the vineyard its lively colour; its site profile lists the ground as red volcanic soil and slate. Moselwein e.V. says half of the Mosel's vineyard area lies on Devonian slate, and that rhyolite, a rock of volcanic origin, occurs only in the commune of Ürzig, where it gives Rieslings from those sites a distinctive spice. Jancis Robinson's site (Tara Q Thomas, April 2026) calls the Würzgarten the only predominantly volcanic vineyard among those that line the Mosel, formed some 250 million years ago when magma escaped along a fault line and, at Ürzig, mixed with the more common slate and sandstone. Decanter's Middle Mosel travel guide describes the steep red slates of Ürziger Würzgarten and Erdener Prälat. The producers use their own terms: Dr. Loosen calls the vineyard an amphitheater of Rotliegend rock and says a high iron content gives the site its vibrant color, and Dr. Hermann describes red, iron-rich soil of rhyolite, sandstone and slate, calling the red sandstone and slate soil of the Kranklei section Rotliegendes.
- Weathered red slate debris with high rock content (VDP)
- High iron oxide concentrations give the red colour (VDP)
- Rhyolite of volcanic origin occurs only in Ürzig (Moselwein e.V.)
- Rotliegend (Dr. Loosen) or Rotliegendes (Dr. Hermann): the producers' name for the red rock and soil
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The VDP says the name Würzgarten stems from the medieval wine village tradition of making 'Würzweine' or 'spiced wines', for which herb gardens were planted in vineyards like Würzgarten, and that a document from the 13th century names the fief vintner as Godefridus Th. Wurzegard. Jancis Robinson's site notes that, according to the VDP, the name, which means spice garden, refers not to the taste of the wines but to that medieval custom. The VDP adds that a show herb garden exists in the steep slope today. Weingut Mönchhof, in Ürzig, says Pope Alexander III confirmed the Cistercian abbey of Himmerod's ownership of vineyards in Ürzig in 1177.
Classification
The VDP lists Würzgarten, Ürzig as a VDP.GROSSE LAGE and calls it the prime parcel in the 53-hectare Würzgarten vineyard. The VDP describes VDP.GROSSE LAGE as the designation for the highest quality German vineyards, precisely demarcated by parcel, and says its four-stage classification was adopted in 2012 analogous to the Burgundian classification with Premier Crus and Grands Crus. Dry wines from VDP.GROSSE LAGE sites are called VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS and are bottled in a special bottle embossed with the GG grape logo, while fruity and noble sweet Prädikat wines from these sites are released on May 1 of the year following harvest.
- VDP.GROSSE LAGE: the prime parcel within the 53-hectare Würzgarten (VDP)
- VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS: the VDP's name for dry wines from Grosse Lage sites
- VDP growers listed for the site: Dr. Loosen and Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt (VDP site profile)
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The Oxford Companion to Wine, by Jancis Robinson and Julia Harding, is where I look before I say anything with confidence, from malolactic conversion to what a cru means.$65.
See the CompanionNotable Producers
The VDP site profile lists Dr. Loosen and Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt as the VDP growers working in the site. Dr. Loosen's own site offers Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling as a Kabinett, an Auslese and a dry GG Old Vines, plus a dry GG Réserve Old Vines labelled 'Unterst Pichter'; it says its GG Réserve wines mature for 24 months on the lees in traditional oak casks, followed by a further 48 months of bottle aging before release. Dr. Hermann names Ürziger Würzgarten in der Kranklei, on the rock with the sundial, as the prime piece of the vineyard, and describes up to 100-year-old, ungrafted Riesling vines in the Würzgarten. The Mönchhof in Ürzig is home to two independent estates: Weingut Mönchhof, which sells an Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett, and Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben, which uses controlled spontaneous fermentation in used Fuder casks for its Rieslings from the Erdener Treppchen and Ürziger Würzgarten.
Sources and last verified
Primary sources (VDP, Moselwein e.V., and the producers' own sites for their own facts): https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/vineyardonline/lage/4129-wuerzgarten, https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/classification, https://drloosen.de/en/collections/urziger-wurzgarten, https://moenchhof.de/weinberge/uerziger-wuerzgarten, https://moenchhof.de/weingut/moenchhof, https://moenchhof.de/weingut/christoffel, https://moenchhof.de/shop?weingut=moenchhof, https://weingut-drhermann.de/vineyards/?lang=en, https://www.weinland-mosel.de/de/die-region/wurzeln-geologie, https://moenchhof.de/. Secondary sources: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/volcanic-wines-armenia-france-germany, https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/wine-regions/germany/mosel, https://www.decanter.com/wine-travel/the-middle-mosel-for-wine-lovers-520200/. Last verified 2026-09-28
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See the AtlasDr. Loosen describes Würzgarten Riesling as full of exotic, spicy aromas and great depth, adding that in some years anise and even a hint of Gewürztraminer can be tasted; it describes its Auslese with mango, pineapple, papaya and citrus, herbal and spice nuances, honey sweetness and lively acidity. Jancis Robinson's site finds Würzgarten Riesling tends to be ripe, even slightly tropical in its fruitiness, with delicate saline and herbal notes. Dr. Hermann describes exotic, fruity and spicy aromas, and Moselwein e.V. credits the rhyolite with a distinctive spice.
- Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling GG dry Old VinesDr. Loosen describes the vineyard as an amphitheater of Rotliegend producing Riesling full of exotic, spicy aromas and great depth, with anise and even a hint of Gewürztraminer in some years.
- Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling AusleseDr. Loosen describes mango, pineapple, papaya and citrus with herbal and spice nuances, honey sweetness and lively acidity.
- Weingut Mönchhof Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling KabinettListed in Mönchhof's own shop from the Ürzig estate that says Pope Alexander III confirmed Himmerod Abbey's ownership of vineyards in Ürzig in 1177.
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- Würzgarten means 'spice garden'; the VDP traces the name to medieval herb gardens planted to make spiced wines (Würzweine), not to the taste of the wine
- Moselwein e.V.: rhyolite of volcanic origin occurs only in Ürzig, while half of the Mosel's vineyard area lies on Devonian slate
- VDP: the VDP.GROSSE LAGE is the prime parcel within the 53-hectare Würzgarten; dry wines from Grosse Lage sites are VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS
- VDP site profile: south to southeast facing, 110 to 220 metres, up to 80 percent gradient, across from the village of Erden
- VDP growers listed for the site: Dr. Loosen and Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt; Dr. Hermann and Weingut Mönchhof also describe the vineyard on their own sites
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