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The Research Center Geisenheim is situated in the Rheingau, one of the most beautiful, culturally rich landscapes in Germany. The area is located in the West of the Rhein-Main region where the cultivation of wine already began in the middle ages. The Research Center Geisenheim is one of the oldest research establishments for viticulture, enology, horticulture, and landscape architecture. It was established as a trust by Baron von Lade and the Prussian Federal State Government in the year 1872. Today the Research Center is under the supervision of the Hessen State Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts and it is one of the leading institutions in the fields of viticulture, enology, wine technology, beverage technology and horticulture. The research focus is on innovative products and technologies, the optimization of product quality and preservation of resources. One of the goals of the Reseach Center is to unite ecology and economy. Research and consulting services serve to support small- and medium-sized enterprises to enhance their competitive edge in a global market and protect employment in the horticulture and wine sector. Consumers also profit from this public service. One of the great assets for research conducted in Geisenheim is the availability of authentic testing material from the privately owned testing fields. The teaching focus is aimed at producing highly qualified personnel capable of being innovative, competitive, and motivated. The Research Center Geisenheim consists of five departments with 13 research units altogether. The variety of the professions represented at the Research Center is a challenge to and an advantage for interdisciplinary cooperation.
Interest in healthy nutrition has increased strongly in the last few years and functional food has become a common concept. In the context of an interdisciplinary research project environmental stress studies are conducted on how climate change is affecting viticulture. Microbiology is also involved in this project in order to find out how the untypical aging note of age can be avoided in Riesling. Another excellent example for research in Geisenheim is the work of the enology department, which explores the complex relationship between wine and cork. One result of this work is the Geisenheim testing certificate.
Approximately 1,000 young people are studying in Geisenheim at the beginning of the second millennium and the Research Center with 300 employees has become an important employer in the region. In 2004, a Master course “Enology” was established together with the Justus Liebig University Giessen and the University of Applied Sciences Fachhochschule Wiesbaden. Among enologists the Research Center Geisenheim enjoys a sound international reputation in both education and research.
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