Müller-Thurgau

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Müller-Thurgau
Grape (Vitis)
Müller-Thurgau grapes
Color of berry skinBlanc
SpeciesVitis vinifera
Also calledRivaner, Riesling x Sylvaner, Rizvanec
OriginGeisenheim Grape Breeding Institute, Germany
Notable regionsAustria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Slovakia
HazardsMildew
VIVC number8141

Müller-Thurgau (German pronunciation:

Japan. There are around 22,201 hectares (54,860 acres)) cultivated worldwide,[1] which makes Müller-Thurgau the most widely planted of the so-called "new breeds" of grape varieties created since the late 19th century. Although plantings have decreased significantly since the 1980s, as of 2019 it was still Germany's second most planted variety at 11,400 hectares and 11.4% of the total vineyard surface.[1] In 2007, the 125th anniversary was celebrated at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute
. Müller-Thurgau is also known as Rivaner (Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, and especially for dry wines), Riesling x Sylvaner, Riesling-Sylvaner, Rizvanec (Slovenia) and Rizlingszilváni (Hungary).

History of the grape variety

Most grapes have been created from a desire to harness qualities in two separate grapes and to generate a new vine that combines the qualities of both.

When Dr. Müller created the grape in the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute in the late 19th century, his intention was to combine the intensity and complexity of the Riesling grape with the ability to ripen earlier in the season that the Silvaner grape possesses. Although the resulting grape did not entirely attain these two qualities, it nonetheless became widely planted across many of the German wine-producing regions.

Per cent share of common grape varieties in Germany 1964–2006. Note Müller-Thurgau's increase and decrease. Data taken from German Wine Statistics.[2][3][4]

By the 1970s, Müller-Thurgau had become Germany's most-planted grape. A possible reason for the popularity of this varietal is that it is capable of being grown in a relatively wide range of

acidic content, but nevertheless fruity. The wines may be drunk while relatively young, and with few exceptions are not considered to improve with age. These facts meant that Müller-Thurgau provided an economical way to cheaply produce large amounts of medium sweet German wines, such as Liebfraumilch and Piesporter
, which were quite popular up until the 1980s.

The turning point in Müller-Thurgau's growth however was the winter of 1979, when on 1 January there was a sharp fall in temperatures, to 20 °F (−7 °C) in many areas, which devastated most of the new varieties, but did not affect the varieties such as Riesling which have much more hardy stems, after hundreds of years of selection. In the decades since then, the winemakers have begun to grow a wider variety of vines, and Müller-Thurgau is now less widely planted in Germany than Riesling, although still significant in that country and worldwide.

While the total German plantations of Müller-Thurgau are declining, the variety is still in third place among new plantations in Germany, after Riesling and Pinot noir, with around 8% of all new plantations in the years 2006–2008.[5]

Genealogy

Recent

DNA fingerprinting has in fact determined that the grape was created by crossing Riesling with Madeleine Royale,[6] not Silvaner or any other suggested grape variety. But there has been some confusion on the way. In 1996, Chasselas seemed to be a valid candidate, and in 1997 the Chasselas variety Admirable de Courtiller was specified. However, this was shown to be wrong when the reference grape that was believed to be Admirable de Courtiller was proven in 2000 to be Madeleine Royale.[7]
Madeleine Royale was long believed to be a Chasselas seedling, but modern DNA fingerprinting methods suggest that it is actually a crossing of Pinot and Trollinger.

German growing regions

As of 2022, German regional plantings stood at:[8]

  • Rheinhessen, 3,893 hectares (9,620 acres)
  • Baden, 2,218 hectares (5,480 acres)
  • Palatinate, 1,630 hectares (4,000 acres)
  • Franconia, 1,400 hectares (3,500 acres)
  • Mosel
    , 771 hectares (1,910 acres)
  • Nahe, 482 hectares (1,190 acres)
  • Saale-Unstrut, 122 hectares (300 acres)

Outside of Germany, the grape has achieved a moderate degree of success in producing lively wines in Italy, southern England (where most other grapes will not ripen in many years) Luxembourg (where it is called Rivaner), Czech Republic, and the United States.

Growing regions

A Müller-Thurgau from Washington State.

Europe

Rest of the world

Synonyms

Synonyms for Müller-Thurgau include Miler Turgau, Müller, Müller-Thurgaurebe, Müllerka, Müllerovo, Muller-Thurgeau, Mullerka, Mullerovo, Riesling-Silvaner, Riesling-Sylvamer, Riesling x Silavaner, Rivaner, Rizanec, Rizlingsilvani, Rizlingszilvani, Rizlingzilvani, Rizvanac, Rizvanac Bijeli, Rizvanec, Rizvaner.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b German Wine Institute (2021), German Wine Statistics 2020/2021 (PDF) (in German and English), Mainz{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link), Format: PDF, KBytes: 219
  2. ^ German Wine Institute: German Wine Statistics 2004-2005 Archived 2009-09-20 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ German Wine Institute: German Wine Statistics 2005-2006 Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ German Wine Institute: German Wine Statistics 2006-2007 Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ Deutsches Weininstitut: Basisdaten 2009 Archived 2012-02-26 at the Wayback Machine, accessed on November 18, 2009.
  6. ^ a b Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Müller-Thurgau Archived 2014-03-17 at the Wayback Machine, accessed on May 26, 2008.
  7. ^ Dr Erika Dettweiler et al.: "Grapevine cultivar Müller-Thurgau and its true to type descent", Vitis 39(2), pp. 63–65, 2000.
  8. ^ "German Wine Statistics 23-24" (PDF) (in German). 2024-01-12.
  9. ^ Decree text of Côtes de Sambre et Meuse (in French).
  10. ^ Decree text of Hageland (in Dutch).
  11. ^ Decree text of Haspengouw (in Dutch).
  12. ^ Decree text of Heuvelland (in Dutch).

Further reading

  • Oz Clarke & Margaret Rand: Clarkes großes Lexikon der Rebsorten, München 2001.
  • Helmut Becker: 100 Jahre Rebsorte Müller-Thurgau, Der Deutsche Weinbau 12/1982.

External links

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