Close to Nierstein the 280-milion-year-old slate bedrock reaches the surface as a red band, also called "der Rote Hang". The relatively barren ground retains the warmth of the sunshine, contrasting with the cool night breezes that blow from the valleys. The Rhine’s influence and the subterranean water veins that crisscross beneath the region make the red slate a unique microcosm, one of the world’s most exceptional terroirs. Especially the Riesling grape translates these conditions wonderfully and grows into incomparable, great wines here.