Laumersheim's Limestone Grosse Lage Approved for All Three Grapes

Kirschgarten

The Kirschgarten sits on the edge of the village of Laumersheim in the northern Mittelhaardt of the Pfalz, and it is classified by the VDP as a VDP.GROSSE LAGE, the top tier in the association's vineyard hierarchy. What sets it apart from most sites at this rank is breadth: it is approved for VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS in Riesling, Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), making it one of the very few Pfalz vineyards carrying that status across all three varieties. Pinot Gris and Chardonnay are grown here as well.

Geography and Classification

The vineyard covers roughly 45 hectares and faces southeast, beginning at the built edge of Laumersheim and climbing into higher, cooler ground above the village. This is not steep-slope country in the Mosel sense. Gradients are gentle, rising to only about 15 percent, and the site sits at around 140 metres above sea level. The best parcels lie closest to the village. To the west, the Orlenberg shelters the vines from cold westerly winds, and the warmth held by the village buildings further tempers the lower sections.

Geology

The Kirschgarten's identity is limestone. The topsoil is loess loam laced with limestone gravel, which holds water well, while the subsoil is deep limestone rock of Tertiary origin. The estates working the site describe the same foundation in their own terms: solid limestone rock beneath loess and quartz sand. This calcareous base is central to how the wines behave. Knipser attributes the well-buffered acidity in their reds and whites to those limestone subsoils, and the loess-influenced topsoils to the mineral depth of the fruit. Limestone under Pinot Noir and Weissburgunder is a large part of why those varieties succeed here as convincingly as Riesling.

Climate

Laumersheim lies in one of Germany's driest and warmest zones. Summers here frequently run for weeks without rain, and annual precipitation averages under 500 millimetres, well below the roughly 800 millimetres typical for Rhineland-Palatinate as a whole. The water-retaining loess loam becomes essential in that context, buffering the vines through dry spells. The combination of heat, drought and limestone gives the site its unusual capacity to ripen both late Riesling and Pinot Noir on the same slope.

The Wines and Producers

Two VDP estates anchor the site's reputation. Weingut Philipp Kuhn treats the Kirschgarten as the origin of the estate; Philipp Kuhn planted Spätburgunder here in 1988 and today bottles Riesling, Weissburgunder and Spätburgunder Grosses Gewächs from it. He has described the site as the cradle of his work, with its wines regularly placed at the front of German wine guides and competitions. Weingut Knipser, the neighbouring estate where Kuhn trained, likewise produces Riesling, Weissburgunder and Spätburgunder GG from the Kirschgarten. Weingut Zelt (Mario Zelt) also bottles single-vineyard Kirschgarten Riesling and Spätburgunder. Across producers, the whites show ripe orchard and stone fruit carried on limestone-driven acidity, while the Pinot Noirs draw structure and freshness from the same calcareous base.

History

The name predates the vineyard's modern fame. The land once belonged to the Nonnenhof, a farm of the Kirschgarten Abbey in Worms, and the site appears in documents as early as 1654 under the spelling "Im Kirschgarthen." The monastic connection gave the vineyard both its name and its long agricultural pedigree, which the current generation of Laumersheim growers has translated into one of the Pfalz's most complete Grosse Lage sites.

This comprehensive guide is part of the WineSaint Wine Region Guide collection. Last updated: September 2026.