Wine growing in the Moselle valley has an almost 2000 year old history. Around 280 AD, when the roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus lifted the ban on wine growing outside of Italy, its cultivation started to spread throughout many parts of France, as well as in the regions of the Rhine and the Moselle. “Mosella”, composed by the roman poet Ausonius around 370 AD describes the wide spread, successful growing of wine in the region. In his poem, Ausonius describes how the mountain cliffs in the Moselle valley were already covered with vines: “……where rocks on sunny heights, cliffs and mounds of earth are covered with vines as if nature built its own theatre. Tendrils of green vine reach up from the seams of the river to the summit of skyward reaching mountain walls………”
Johannes Wolfgang von Goethe, who visited the Moselle region 1400 years later described it similarly: “….Every sunny hill was used, but soon we admired rugged rocks along the river, on whose small, protruding edges – like accidental nature terraces - the vine prospered to be its very best .”
In many places along the Moselle, the landscape is a reminder of the portrayal of these and other poets, but none fits it better than the steepest of all, the Calmont. This vineyard, located between the Moselle river towns Bremm and Eller, can lay claim to the title of “steepest vineyard in Europe”.
The statistical number of a 65 degree incline does not sufficiently prepare the spectator for the imposing view that the Calmont offers. Almost threatening like a wall, the Calmont climbs three hundred meters upward from the bottom of the Moselle. Many passages, yet steeper than 65 degrees, climb almost vertically. The steepness of this cliff, carved out by the Moselle over millions of years, can only be grasped once you climb into its terraces. There is no single contained vineyard, but rather sections of earth, intermingled again and again with steep rock walls and rough ledges. In order to make the cliff useful for cultivation, the wine-growers built terraces with the help of support walls. However, these walls, unable to withstand the pressure of the mountain for long, collapse time and time again and have to be constantly repaired or rebuilt.
The effort of the wine growers is arduous and the expenses involved with the cultivation and preservation of the vineyards on the Calmont have always been high. There are no roads that lead through the Calmont, only narrow paths that wind in serpentines across the mountain and stairways that climb over the rocks and walls of the terraces. On the back of the wine-grower, fertilizer is transported up in the spring and grapes carried down in the fall.
Due to the terrain, machines could never be used in order to ease the wine-grower’s laborious and sometimes dangerous work. Since the 1950’s, the Calmont has experienced a steady decline in cultivated areas mainly because of the intense work involved. This is very unfortunate, since the Riesling vines thrive here in ideal climate conditions:
The mountain cliff, about two kilometers in length, resembles the form of a gigantic hollow mirror, opened to the south. The height of the 400 meter mountain protects the valley against the cold northern winds. The summit of the Calmont, covered with trees and shrubs, prevents cold air from seeping into the valley. The climate enhancing effect of the waters of the Moselle is strong, as the river loops narrowly around the mountain.
A very important factor is also the soil quality of the Calmont. It consists of a soft slate soil mixed with 60% rock. The favorable angle of the sun, due to the optimal cliff inclination, the numerous rocks and walls, and the high percentage of stone in the soil, cause the ground to warm up faster and store the warmth better than elsewhere.
The Calmont remains a secret among wine connoisseurs, partly due to the fact that its size of only 20 acres yields limited quantities. However, its ideal climatic and topographic conditions result in wines that excel in elegance and aroma.