PALATINAT (Pfalz)

The wine-growing region is located in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. The vineyards cover 23,554 hectares, making it the second largest German wine-growing region after Rheinhessen. Until 1995 it was called Rheinpfalz, the current name (lat. Palatium = palace) derives from the Palatines of the Holy Roman Empire who resided in the city of Heidelberg from the 13th to the middle of the 18th century. 

The climatic conditions for winegrowing are ideal. There are dry, not too hot summers and mild winters. With around 1,800 hours of sunshine a year, the Palatinate is one of the warmest German wine-growing regions with an almost Mediterranean climate. The soils in the Haardt consist entirely of mixtures of sand, loam, marl and clay. 

Viticulture is practised in a total of 144 Palatinate villages, mainly in the southern and front Palatinate on the western edge of the plain between the Rhine and the Palatinate Forest.