Sachsen Wine Region Location The Sachsen wine region is located in the German state of Saxony (Sachsen). The region runs along the Elbe river to the northwest and southeast of Dresden. It is also Germany's most eastern wine region. Size Germany's smallest wine region. 978 acres (396 hectares) 552,000 gallons (21,000 hectoliters) of wine are produced annually in the Sachsen region (77.9% Prädikatswein; 20.3% Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete). This accounts for only 0.2% of the volume from Germany's entire wine region. Climate 86.5% white and 13.5% red grape varieties are planted in the Sachsen region. The dominant grapes are the Müller-Thurgau and Riesling. Other important grapes are listed below. Grape Varieties 78% white and 22% red grape varieties are planted in the Saale-Unstrut region. The dominant grapes are the Müller-Thurgau and Weissburgunder. Other important grapes are listed below.   Müller-Thurgau White 22.2%   Riesling White 16.1%   Weissburgunder White 13.2%   Grauburgunder White 8.7%   Kerner White 6.5%   Spätburgunder Red 6.5%   Elbling White 4%   Dornfelder Red 4%   Scheurebe White 2.2%   Bacchus White 1.8%   (Statistics from www.wein-plus.de) Characteristics of Sachsen Wine The conditions in the Sachsen region are not as ideal as other regions in Germany. Because of this, quantity and quality of wines vary year by year. Because of the low volumes of wine from this region, Sachsen wines are considered a rarity and are often expensive. History Wine production in the Sachsen region dates back to the year 1161. Grapes were first planted here by monks, but wine production in the area was increased by French settlers. Grapes thrived in the area and by the 1800's, over 42,000 acres were covered with grapevines. In 1811, Europe's first Wine School was founded in Meissen, a town northwest of Dresden. It still exists today. The region suffered a hard time in the late 1800's when various types of pests infected the grapevines. Because of this, many wine producers sold their land to farmers, and by the end of WWII, only 1,560 acres were still in wine production. It wasn't until 1955 that the industry began to recover. With the German reunification in 1989 came many changes for the Sachsen wineries, including new regulations and standards and new support. Many new wineries opened and old ones were reopened and quality significantly improved. In 1992, the Saxony Wine Street (Sächsische Weinstrasse), a tourist route through the wine towns and vineyards, was established.