Professor Blankenhorn Wine Trail of the Freiburg State Winery
Time and again, German viticulture has produced influential personalities who have played a defining role in its development. Many names are only familiar to a few today, while their innovations or discoveries are often taken for granted and not given much thought.
For example, everyone knows what an oenologist is: a wine scientist. But who actually invented wine science? If you are looking for the answer, you might want to drive to Ihringen in the Kaiserstuhl and climb the Blankenhornsberg. The Blankenhornsberg offers a magnificent view of the Vosges and the Black Forest and commemorates Adolph Blankenhorn (1843-1906), the founder of German viticultural research. The renowned oenologist was the first president of the Baden and German Winegrowers' Association (1874), founded Germany's first oenological institute in Karlsruhe in 1875, published a scientific journal ("Annals of Oenology") and became a professor through research into viticulture on his own vineyard on the Blankenhornsberg, which had been acquired by his father and two brothers in 1842. Blankenhorn played a significant role in researching the current grafting practice to combat phylloxera. We owe a great deal of our present wine enjoyment to him! The Blankenhornsberg is therefore a thoroughly studied, almost oenological mountain, which is also a vineyard! The associated site is consequently called ‘Doktorgarten’. The Professor Blankenhorn Wine Trail leads through the Doktorgarten for about 2 km (a shortcut is possible) and gives you an insight into the history of Professor Blankenhorn and the vineyard. At twelve selected stations, you can learn interesting facts about the beginnings of the family winery, the viticultural institute and viticulture in the Kaiserstuhl region, as well as about the grape varieties grown and fungus-resistant grape varieties in particular. If you are interested, you can also use the QR code to access more detailed texts and pictures. You are warmly invited to embark on an excursion through the past, present and future of viticulture in a unique panoramic location.
