Baden

The Baden winegrowing region, with 15,142 hectares of vineyards the third largest in Germany, extends in a north-south direction over a length of about 400 kilometers.

15.142 ha

Vineyard area (2025)
4.765 ha

single vineyards
16

large vineyards
306

Einzellagen

Correspondingly diverse are the wines found along the Badische Weinstraße. They are “blessed with sunshine,” as wine connoisseurs have long agreed. It was therefore only logical that Baden became the only German wine‑growing region assigned to EU Wine Zone B, which requires wines to reach higher must weights than elsewhere in Germany.

Abundant hours of sunshine and some of Germany’s warmest locations—particularly around the Kaiserstuhl—ensure that these requirements are easily met. The Baden wine region stretches from the Tauber Valley in the north to Lake Constance in the south. Its nine subregions differ significantly in landscape and climate, allowing an impressive variety of wines to be produced. In the northern part—Tauberfranken, the Badische Bergstraße, and the Kraichgau—Rivaner, Riesling, and Pinot Meunier (Schwarzriesling) dominate.

In central Baden, especially in the Ortenau, Riesling and Pinot Noir are the leading varieties. Further south—in the Breisgau, Kaiserstuhl, and Tuniberg—red and white Burgundy varieties prevail. The Markgräflerland, near the Swiss border, cultivates the white wine specialty Gutedel (971 ha), while the Lake Constance region is known above all for Pinot Noir and Müller-Thurgau.

Baden is true Pinot country. The varieties of the Pinot family cover 9,162 hectares, accounting for 61 percent of the region’s vineyard area. Baden ranks first in Germany for Pinot Noir (4,765 ha) and Pinot Blanc (1,640 ha). The new variety Souvignier Gris, bred in Freiburg, is now planted on 188 hectares in Baden - more than anywhere else in the country.

Overview Baden

Geographical location: The north-central portion of the Tauber Valley and the upper Rhine Valley adjacent to the Black Forest, stretching from Heidelberg to the Swiss border and the Bodensee (Lake Constance)

Major town(s): Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Baden-Baden, Freiburg

Climate: Sunny and warm; the Kaiserstuhl district is Germany's warmest area

Soil types: Shell-limestone in Tauberfranken. Elsewhere, a wide variety including keuper, loam, loess, granite, clay, limestone and sand. The Kaiserstuhl is an extinct volcano, while glacial deposits (moraine) are typical of the Bodensee district.

Vineyard area (2025): 15,142 ha · 9 districts · 16 collective vineyard sites · 300+ individual sites

Grape varieties 2025 [white 62% · red 38%] : Spätburgunder, Müller-Thurgau, Grauburgunder as well as Weißburgunder, Gutedel and Riesling.

Marketing: Most growers are members of the ca. 100 cooperatives that produce and market about 85% of the region's wine. The regional cooperative cellars in Breisach are the largest in Europe and the fourth-largest in the world. Exports play a minor role. Nearly half of production is sold in supermarkets; the other half in wine shops and restaurants, or directly to final consumers.

Signposted routes through wine country: Badische Weinstraße (driving) · the northern portion of the Romantic Road (driving) traverses the Baden portion of the Tauber Valley, as does the Main-Tauber-Fränkische Radachter (cycling) · the Castle Road (driving) passes through the Badische Bergstraße at Heidelberg · Weinstraße Kraichgau-Stromberg (driving) · Markgräfler Wiiwegli from Freiburg to Weil (hiking & cycling).

Varietals

Highlight The Wine Island of Reichenau World Heritage Site

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Highlight The Wine Island of Reichenau World Heritage Site - The “Wine Island” of Reichenau

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Highlight Vineum Bodensee A Museum for all the Senses

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