The town has one of the three Rheinhessen Bereichs (districts) named after it. The town lies at the northeast corner of this zone, which runs south for around 20 kilometers (12 miles) and east for about 15km to the outskirts of Mainz. A Bereich Bingen wine can come from fruit anywhere in this district, and often features grape varieties other than Riesling
Confusingly for non-German speakers the best wines from the town itself do not feature the word "Bingen" prominently on the label
Higher classified Grosslage (collection of vineyards) and Einzellage (single vineyard) wines instead use the possesive form "Binger"
A number of tours and wine-themed guided rambles or wagon rides are available
The town is also famous for the Mouse Tower (where a Bishop is said to have been eaten by mice)
Klopp Castle and a number of churches and chapels
The smallest lies within the Drusus Bridge
one of the oldest stone bridges in Germany
The town was the starting point of the Via Ausonia
a Roman road which ran to Trier on the banks of the Mosel
It was also the birthplace of the polymath Saint Hildegard von Bingen
The Kirchberg and Scharlachberg sites are both classified by the VDP as Grosse Lage
The Kirchberg site is a southeast-facing vineyard situated on the Rheinhessen side of the Rhine river, across from Rüdesheim
below calcareous chalk with a high stone content
The vines are sheltered from cold northern winds by the Hunsrück mountain range
and the site's mesoclimate is moderated by the Rhine itself
with higher levels of humidity at the lower elevations and drier
takes its name from the high levels of iron oxide found in the slate
The 25-hectare (62-acre) vineyard is exceptionally steep in places
and has a south-facing exposure that gives vines access to all-day sunlight
Scharlachberg also benefits from strong winds that roll in from the low-lying Hunsrück mountains