📍 Baden

Baden is Germany's southernmost wine region, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It stretches for about 400 km from Tauberfranken in the north to Lake Constance in the south, past the Bergstraße, the Upper Rhine Graben and the foothills of the Black Forest. Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Baden-Baden and Freiburg lie here. Vineyards grow at 115–520 m, on slopes of up to 60 %, and on the Kaiserstuhl and Tuniberg mostly on terraces.

The soils formed from granite, gneiss, shell limestone and volcanic rock, mostly under a layer of loess. Freiburg averages 10.8 °C, 955 mm of rain and 1,740 hours of sunshine a year. Baden is the only German region in EU wine zone B, like Alsace; the rest of Germany belongs to zone A.

The vineyard area is 15,454 ha (2024), the third largest in the country. Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder) leads with 31.8 %, followed by Pinot Gris at 15.5 %, Müller-Thurgau at 13.5 %, Pinot Blanc at 10.7 % and Gutedel (Chasselas) at 6.5 %; Riesling has just 5.4 %. Baden ranks first in Germany for Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc. The region is divided into 9 districts, from Markgräflerland and the Kaiserstuhl to Bodensee and Tauberfranken.

Viticulture in Baden is mentioned in documents from 720 onwards. The region has its own traditional wines: Badisch Rotgold, a Rotling from Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, and Weißherbst, a pale wine from a single red grape.

Why it matters to you. German wine is not just Riesling: in Baden, Burgundy grapes cover 61 % of the area (2025). Weißherbst on a label means a pale rosé from a single red grape, and Badisch Rotgold a blend of Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir. Whites are served at 4–10 °C, reds at 15–18 °C.