Red wines on the famous southern slope
Who doesn't know it? The imposing “Höllenbrand” sign, visible from afar on the A61 from Worms towards Alzey. Since 2016, the "Rheinhessen" lettering and logo have also been displayed on the cross-terraced slope, which is 100% south-facing. The location was first mentioned in documents in 1437 with the name “in dem hilprant” and in 1710 with the name “im Höllenrand”. Both the personal name Hildebrand and the Middle High German word “halde, hel, hölle” (for slope) could be the origin of the name. And the word “Brand” could belong to the Middle High German word “rant” and mean “mountain edge”. So the hellfire has nothing to do with the devil. However, the southern slope is as hot as hell, which is why winegrowers plant vines here for full-bodied wines, often red wines. It's a good thing that there are natural springs in the soil – loess loam and limestone.
Origin: Teritic marine deposits of a calcareous algae reef, weathered to brown loam
