Winery Dr. med. Alex Senfter

Presented to the Pope

A red sandstone cross, a votive cross, stands at the foot of a vineyard in this single vineyard. This is probably where the name comes from. A votive cross means a special kind of cross: The cross was erected out of gratitude. As a rescue from an emergency. Riesling and also increasingly Pinot Noir vines grow here, which have freshness and finesse. A nice anecdote: Pope Benedict was served a 1999 Pinot Noir from this vineyard by the Kühling-Gillot winery as a mass wine - how fitting. The winemakers therefore call the site "Papstlage" (engl. Pope’s vineyard).

> Overview of sights in and around Oppenheim: https://www.stadt-oppenheim.de/sehen/
> Link to the German Viticulture Museum: https://www.dwm-content.de/
> Other single vineyard sites with the name Kreuz: Ingelheimer Rotes Kreuz, Ockenheimer Kreuz

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Biblical reference, oil mill or oily Rieslings?

Is the single vineyard named “Ölberg” because an oil mill once stood here? Or did the Ölberg get its name because of the oily consistency of the wines produced here? Does the site maybe have biblical references, named after a monastery? Anything is possible. The single vineyard is part of the "Roter Hang" but turns away from the river Rhein and faces south-southeast, situated above Nierstein. Partly very steep with a gradient of up to 60 percent. Like it is tpical for Roter Hang, the soil here is Rotliegendes, the iron oxide-containing, and landscape-defining red shining clay slate. The dominant grape variety is Riesling. In the middle of the vineyard: the Wartturm, a Nierstein landmark. Once a medieval signal tower from the 12th century.

> Discover the single vineyard by bike: https://www.rheinhessen.de/amiche-radweg

> Info about the Nierstein Wartturm: https://www.rheinhessen.de/a-wartturm-von-nierstein
> Wine events, winemakers and more: https://roter-hang.de/

Limestone and Pinot vines for the monk’s vineyard

The "Niersteiner Paterberg" stretches from Nierstein in the direction of Oppenheim almost until Dexheim in gentle sweeps. Loess and limestone dominate the subsoil here. The old quarry, which was photographed here from above, is clearly visible. This single vineyard is no longer part of "Roter Hang". Various grape varieties grow here, many Pinot varieties, also Pinot Noir. The wines from this vineyard are filigree. The term "Pater" is a synonym for monk. The name thus goes back to the property of a monk's monastery. On the edge of the single vineyard stands the "Trutzburg". A somewhat unusual and funny building that is also used by the regional radio amateurs.