Riquewihr is surrounded by hills well exposed for the cultivation of vines. Three-quarters of the Schoenenbourg hill (650 ft / 198 m) have marly soil and southern exposure. The land in the easternmost zone, of limestone nature and exposed to the south-east, is the Kronenbourg. It is hotter and better suited to the Gewurztraminer grape. In the Alsatian tradition, the wines of the terroirs were named after the place where they grow.