From Abtsberg to Äbtissinsberg?

There are over 2600 individual vineyards in Germany, and many of them can look back on a history of several hundred years. Until recently, the proper names of the vineyards were never scrutinised.

At the end of last year, however, a newly formed working group met for the first time at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, which is responsible for viticulture, to examine the catalogue of German vineyard sites from the point of view of gender equality. The working group is chaired by linguist Angelika Balgthöter-Hasenfratz from the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.

The Chair of the Institute of Value-Based Linguistics emphasises that the task set by the Ministry is close to her heart: “For centuries, if not millennia, the world of wine was male-dominated. From the winemaking profession to the wine-drinking macho, who liked to show off his superior wine knowledge at social gatherings.” The male dominance is also reflected in the vineyard sites. There tends to be more vineyards with male than female names. “We want to create the overdue balance here.”

The Moselle wine-growing region is a particular focus. “There, a particularly large number of vineyards are characterised by Catholic dignitaries or male religious orders,” says Balgthöter-Hasenfratz. “Graach Domprobst, Erden Prälat, Trier Deutschherrenberg, and of course the three Maximin Grünhaus single vineyards Abtsberg, Herrenberg and Bruderberg are just a few examples.”

Photo: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

All of these vineyard sites could therefore be targeted. However, the first step is to clarify how many vineyards need to be renamed in order to achieve gender balance. At the same time, the working group will draw up proposals for the criteria to be used to select the vineyards concerned. “Here, we will take into account the renown of the vineyards, including in an international context. The genders must be balanced in terms of the reputation of the vineyards.”

While assistants are to be employed to document the frequency of mentions of individual vineyard sites in old daily newspapers from the past 50 years with tally lists, an IT company has been commissioned to programme a search robot that will search the internet with a clear assignment: For example, how often is Hochheim Domdechant or Rech Herrenberg mentioned in social media?

However, this is only the first step. “We still only differentiate between two biological genders in our language. But how do we deal with the many non-binary gender identities?” asks Angelika Balgthöter-Hasenfratz. The linguistic possibilities to depict these still lag far behind social developments. It is also unclear how to deal with other future gender identities that are currently unknown or have not yet been publicly discussed. “It will probably be decades before we get any closer to solving this extremely complex problem.”

In the meantime, however, the first adjustments are to be made. The pragmatic suggestion, born out of necessity: “As long as the Maximin Grünhaus Abtsberg, for example, had a male name reference, it could henceforth be called Äbtissinsberg. That are a few centuries. After that, we should let follow other gender identities according to a rotation principle yet to be determined.”

Angelika Balgthöter-Hasenfratz does not agree with the argument that a Maximin Grünhaus Äbtissinsberg would not do justice to the historical realities – after all, the former Grünhaus Maximiners were a male order: “One more reason not to further cement the disregard for women's rights to equality by the Maximin monks in our language.”

Conversely, there is also a vineyard with a female name that is viewed extremely critically: the Billgheim Venusbuckel.

“An obscene, misogynistic lack of taste,” the linguist fumes with rage. “The working group proposes that the site has to be abandoned due to its contaminated past and converted into agricultural land for fruit growing.” Apples (male genus in German language) and pears (female genus) are to be cultivated here in equal proportions in future.

Angelika Balgthöter-Hasenfratz plans to present an initial comprehensive report with preliminary proposals for a solution to the public on 1 April 2026.