Winegrowers Supplies
- Vine variety information
Reichensteiner
Mother: Müller-Thurgau
Father: (Madeleine Angevine x Calabreser Froehlich)
Year of breeding: 1939
Country of origin: Germany
Breeder/License holder: Forschungsanstalt Geisenheim / Rheingau,
Institut für Rebenzüchtung und Rebenveredlung
Number of clones:
Year of entry into the German Federal Office's Varieties Register: 1978
Area planted in Germany in 1986: 349 hectares
Area planted in England (as at August 2004): 88.5 hectares, 2nd largest
Wine Character - colour: yellow-green
- bouquet: weak, soft
- palate: light, neutral, not always lively - needs acidity for structure
When the harvest is late it is possible to make an Auslese. Can be used for
Süss-reserve or for blending with other wines. In a good vintage with
sufficient acidity and ripeness it makes a very good dry wine on it's own. The
wine 'consumes' very little SO2, hence it can remain in peak condition for more than 10 years.
photo by Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI), Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof - 76833 Siebeldingen, Germany.
Time of bud-burst: early to middle-early
Strength of growth: medium to strong
Growth of side-shoots: medium to strong
Flowering time: middle-early
Flowering strength: high
Leaf: - size: medium-large
- shape: round, toothed edge, 3 to weak 5 lobed
- colour:
- surface undulation:
- petiolar sinus: V-shape, open
Grape bunch: - size: large, long
- density: medium to loose
Berries: - size: medium-large
- shape: round
- skin colour: yellow-green
(yellow to yellow-brown when fully ripe)
Time of veraison: early to middle
Time of harvest: middle
Grape yield: high
Must-weight: medium-high
Must-acidity: medium to low
Wood ripening: poor to medium
Winter hardiness: sensitive to severe winter frost
Wood colour: yellow-brown with dark brown stripes
Chlorosis resistance: medium
Susceptibility to - Oidium: medium
- Peronospora: as Müller-Thurgau
- Botrytis: low
- Roter Brenner:
- Phomopsis: less than M-Th
- Stem-atrophy:
Preferred soil: rich and never dry
Suitable rootstocks: SO4 and 5C in fresh soils, in weaker-growing soils 125AA; not 5BB
Normal stem height: 0.6 to 0.7m
Normal row spacing: 1.8 to 2.0m
Vine spacing in the row: 1.2m
Winter Pruning: 8 eyes/buds per sq. metre of land occupied by the plant. If pruned too strongly the next year's growth is weak and wood-ripening is poor. It is very fruitful on the basal buds, so it can be spur pruned.
Advantages: High flowering strength giving consistently high yields. High must-weight, low sensitivity to botrytis so the grapes can be left to ripen fully. The wine ages very well.
Disadvantages: Poor wood-ripening. Over-cropping causes a strong withdrawal of growth. Susceptible to very severe winter frost.
Notes: In has been used to breed Granoir (synonyms Pully B-28, Garanoir, Grand Noir) = Gamay noir x Reichensteiner. Thest crossing was created in 1970 in Switzerland.