HAMASHARA
Early-ripening Azeri red wine grape.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Aronova Boroda (meaning ‘Aaron’s beard’), Gamashara
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Hamashara, the historical name of the village of Hasıllı, is a variety local to the Jalilabad region in south-east Azerbaijan. It is said to be the result of natural pollination of wild vines whose offspring were cultivated from seeds by the local people. If this were the case, then Hamashara would not be a single grape variety but a group of several distinct and closely related varieties.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Early ripening. Large bunches of large, thick-skinned berries.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Jalilabad Winery in Azerbaijan make dry, dessert and fortified wines from this variety, whose produce is naturally low in alcohol and high in acidity.
HANEPOOT
See MUSCAT OF ALEXANDRIA.
HÁRSLEVELŰ
Aromatic, descriptively named Hungarian variety used for both sweet and dry whites.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Budai Féher, Feuille de Tilleul (France), Harslevleue, Harzevelu, Lindenblättrige (Germany, Austria), Lipolist (Croatia), Lipovina (Czech Republic, Slovakia)
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR HÁRSLEVELŰ: EZERJÓ *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Hárslevelű, meaning ‘linden leaf’, in reference to the wine’s aroma, is a variety from Hungary, first mentioned there in 1744. Using thirteen DNA markers, Calò, Costacurta et al. (2008) had posited a parent–offspring relationship with FURMINT, which was confirmed with a total of sixty markers (Vouillamoz), making Hárslevelű an offspring of Furmint (see that entry) and a sibling of PLANTSCHER, an old Swiss variety of Hungarian origin, confirming the variety’s Hungarian roots.
Hárslevelű should not be confused with EZERJÓ even though they share the synonym Budai Fehér (‘white of Buda’).
Hárslevelű was used to breed EZERFÜRTŰ, KABAR and ZEFÍR.
OTHER HYPOTHESES
Like FURMINT, Hárslevelű is often said, without evidence, to have been introduced from Italy.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Productive, mid budding, late ripening. Big, loose bunches of small to medium-sized, thin-skinned berries. Prone to frost damage, sensitive to drought and susceptible to powdery mildew. Best suited to warmer volcanic soils. Marginally less prone to noble rot than FURMINT.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Wines are aromatic and delicately spicy, adding perfume to the more fiery FURMINT in sweet Tokaji wines. The wines are softer than Furmint and mature more quickly. This century has seen an increasing number of very successful varietal late-harvest and Aszú varietal wines (Rohály et al. 2003). Dry and off-dry varietal wines are made at all quality levels but the best are viscous and full-bodied and have a distinctive flavour of linden blossom and linden honey.
In Austria’s Burgenland, Josef Umathum has planted a small parcel of Lindenblättrige, planning to expand it, and makes a dry varietal wine but also sees the potential for botrytized sweet wines. The variety was officially authorized in Austria in 2011.
Hárslevelű is grown throughout Hungary but particularly in Tokaj in the far north east (about 65% of the total), Eger (notably in the Debrő district) slightly further west and Somló in the far west, north of Lake Balaton, where wines tend to be more mineral and less aromatic. Wines from Villány in the south are softer and more perfumed. Recommended producers include Győrgyovács and Hollóvár in Somló, St Andrea in Eger, Berés and Zoltán Demeter in Tokaj and Bock and Plgár in Villány. There were 1,612 ha (3,983 acres) in Hungary in 2008.
Hárslevelű is also grown over the border in Slovakia; and in Romania (20 ha/49 acres in 2008), where it is used mainly for dry wines.
In South Africa, there were 75 ha (185 acres) in 2008 scattered across the wine regions but with the biggest area in Robertson. Lammershoek in the Swartland make a dry varietal wine and have high hopes for this variety, picked early to retain acidity, from their 1 ha (2.5 acres) of 42-year-old bushvines. Elsewhere the fruit tends to be swallowed up in blends.
HASANDEDE
Humdrum Turkish variety found east of the capital, Ankara.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Ahmet Bey, Aşeri * (Nevşehir in Kapadokya/Cappadocia), Hasan Dede, Hasandede Beyazi
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR HASANDEDE: ?KALECIK KARASI, Sungurlu *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Hasandede, literally ‘grandfather Hasan’, probably originates from the Kırıkkale province east of Ankara in central Turkey. DNA profiling has shown that Aşeri from Nevşehir in Kapadokya is identical to Hasandede, and DNA parentage analysis has suggested a possible parent–offspring relationship between Hasandede and Sungurlu, another variety from the Kırıkkale region that is not commercially cultivated (Vouillamoz et al. 2006). Confusingly, Sungurlu is sometimes used as a synonym for Hasandede.
OTHER HYPOTHESES
Sungurlu is listed as a synonym for Hasandede in the Vitis International Variety Catalogue but DNA profiling rejects this hypothesis (Vouillamoz et al. 2006). Nevertheless, KALECIK KARASI is also listed among the synonyms, and so far no DNA profiling has been done to verify this hypothesis.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Thin-skinned, medium-sized berries. Mid ripening, good general disease resistance.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Grown in the Kırıkkale province east of Ankara in central Turkey, mostly for the table and to produce pekmez, concentrated grape juice, though it is also used to make very basic-quality white wine.
HEIDA
See SAVAGNIN BLANC in the SAVAGNIN entry.
HELFENSTEINER
German cross eclipsed by its offspring Dornfelder.
Berry colour: red
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Blauer Weinsberger, Weinsberg S 5332
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A PINOT NOIR PRÉCOCE × SCHIAVA GROSSA cross created in 1931 by August Herold. This variety was named after the ruined castle of Helfenstein close to Geislingen an der Steige, south east of Stuttgart. Helfensteiner is now more famous as a parent of the highly successful DORNFELDER than in its own right.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid to late ripening (but usefully earlier than its parent SCHIAVA GROSSA) with good resistance to downy mildew and botrytis bunch rot but erratic yields. Its susceptibility to coulure has played a major part in its decline since the 1970s.
WHERE IT’S GROWN
Whereas DORNFELDER has been widely planted within (and to a lesser extent without) Germany, there are just 19 ha (47 acres) of Helfensteiner, exclusively in southern Germany. In Württemberg, Dieterich, Jaillet and Wangler make varietal wines, the first producing a Weissherbst (pink) version. Kern (Baden) also bottles a varietal Helfensteiner.
HELIOS
Little-known, very complex, disease-resistant German hybrid.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Freiburg 242-73
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A complex hybrid obtained in 1973 by Norbert Becker at the Freiburg research centre in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany, by crossing MERZLING × Fr 986-60, where:
– MERZLING is itself a complex hybrid (see PRIOR for the full pedigree)
– Fr 986-60 is a Seyve-Villard 12-481 × MÜLLER-THURGAU hybrid
– Seyve-Villard 12-481 is a Seibel 6468 × Seibel 6746 hybrid
– Seibel 6468 is a Seibel 4614 × Seibel 3011 hybrid, and the parents of Seibel 6746 were not recorded
– Seibel 4614 is a Seibel 752 × (Vivarais × Vitis berlandieri) hybrid (see PRIOR for the complete Vivarais pedigree)
– Seibel 752 is a Panse Précoce (Sicilien) × Clairette Dorée Ganzin hybrid
– Panse Précoce is a Bicane × PASCAL BLANC cross, the former being a non-cultivated French wine and table grape variety
– Clairette Dorée Ganzin is a Ganzin 60 × BOURBOULENC hybrid
– Ganzin 60 is an ARAMON NOIR × Vitis rupestris Ganzin hybrid
– Seibel 3011 is a Bayard × Afus Ali (ie Dattier de Beyrouth) hybrid, where Bayard is an Emily × Vitis rupestris hybrid and Emily is a Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera × Vitis labrusca hybrid
– Afus Ali is a table grape variety from Lebanon.
Helios was named after the Greek God of the sun. Helios is also the name of an unrelated table grape grown in Slovakia.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid ripening. Good resistance to botrytis bunch rot, downy and powdery mildews.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Helios was authorized for commercial production in Germany in 2005 and plantings are still insufficient for it to feature in official German vineyard statistics, although varietal wines are made by, for example, Dr Benz, Feuerstein and Isele in Baden in the south. They can be rather nondescript and are sometimes improved by a few grams of residual sugar. Acidity levels are similar to MÜLLER-THURGAU although must weights can be higher.
A few experimental vines (0.23 ha/0.57 acres) are also planted in Switzerland. Also found in Belgium at the Domaine Viticole du Chenoy.
HERBEMONT
Almost extinct American hybrid with a complex and disputed parentage.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Black Herbemont, Bottsi, Brown French, Dunn, Herbemon, Herbemont’s Madeira, Hunt, Kay’s Seedling, Madeira, Mcknee, Neal Grape, Neil Grape, Warren, Warrenton, White Herbemont
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
The exact origin of this variety is obscure and disputed. Thomas Volney Munson (1843–1903), a horticulturist and grape breeder from Texas, considered Herbemont and JACQUEZ (under the synonym Lenoir) to be members of Vitis bourquiniana, a doubtful botanical group of varieties that are closely related to the native Vitis aestivalis (Munson 1909). Bailey (1906) described these bourquiniana varieties as ‘ameliorated forms of the native summer-grape Vitis aestivalis’, and thought that some of them ‘may be hybrids of Vitis aestivalis and the European wine-grape’, the last hypothesis being supported by Galet (1988). It is likely that the European varieties came from Madeira.
Nicholas Herbemont (1771–1839), a French-born grower from Columbia, South Carolina, collected one such bourquiniana variety in 1798 in the plantation of Judge John Huger in Columbia, South Carolina, and called it Madeira. Herbemont was so active in its promotion and propagation that it was later known as Herbemont’s Madeira, and then simply Herbemont. According to Thomas McCall’s record, this variety was brought to Georgia before the American Revolution by Henry Hunt in St Paul’s parish north of Augusta, where it was known as the Hunt grape. In the early nineteenth century it spread to Warren County, Georgia, where it was then simply known as the Warren grape (Bonner 2009). These separate mentions clearly indicate that the variety had been cultivated and propagated long before Herbemont found it in Columbia.
OTHER HYPOTHESES
According to Munson, Herbemont and JACQUEZ were introduced from southern France around 1750 as ‘Brown French’ (Herbemont) and ‘Blue French’ (Jacquez) by the Bourquin family of Savannah, Georgia, hence the name Vitis bourquiniana, in honour of Gougie Bourquin. However, their characteristics and disease resistance differ widely from pure Vitis vinifera and they were considered to be hybrids of Vitis aestivalis, Vitis cinerea and most likely some unidentified Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera (Munson 1909). If Herbemont and Jacquez are not pure Vitis vinifera, then some Vitis aestivalis and Vitis cinerea must previously have been introduced from America to Europe, where they were hybridized spontaneously or deliberately with some European vinifera to generate Herbemont and Jacquez, which were imported to the New World in the mid eighteenth century. This hypothesis can be rejected because the hybridization would predate the earliest deliberate cross made with grapes (around 1750) and because there was no reason to make interspecific hybrids in Europe at that time, simply because powdery mildew, downy mildew and phylloxera had not yet been introduced.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
In the humid climate of southern Brazil the variety found favour because of its disease resistance and there were still 846 ha (2,091 acres) in Rio Grande do Sul in 2007. Salton, for example, produce a rosé that blends Herbemont with Isabel (ISABELLA) and SEYVAL BLANC. There are also still a few vines in the Cévennes, even though the variety is not authorized in France, and some of the fruit contributes to the Jacquez-dominated Cuvée des Vignes d’Antan made by the Association Mémoire de la Vigne, which cannot legally be sold in the EU since almost all hybrids are banned there.
HEROLDREBE
Unexceptional, productive but inconveniently late-ripening German cross.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Weinsberg S 130
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A BLAUER PORTUGIESER × BLAUFRÄNKISCH cross bred by and named after August Herold at the Weinsberg research centre in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany in 1929. Since Blaufränkisch is a progeny of GOUAIS BLANC, Heroldrebe is its grandchild. Heroldrebe was used to breed DORNFELDER. This parentage has been confirmed by DNA profiling (Myles et al. 2011).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Yields are high at around 140 hl/ha (8 tons/acre) and regular but it ripens so late that it can be grown only in warmer regions of Germany. Good resistance to downy mildew and botrytis bunch rot.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
There are 155 ha (383 acres) in Germany, mainly in the Pfalz, where it is used predominantly for rosé, but it’s also planted in Württemberg and Rheinhessen. The wines are reasonably light but can have noticeable tannins and overall wine quality is lower than for its parent BLAUER PORTUGIESER. It is more famous as a parent of DORNFELDER than in its own right. Varietal wines are made by Anselmann in the Pfalz and Bernecker further south in Baden.
HETERA
Recently authorized Slovakian cross making promising sweet wines.
Berry colour: red
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: HTCVCB 4/13
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Hetera is a GEWÜRZTRAMINER × ROTER VELTLINER cross (with Slovakian names: Tramín Červený × Veltlínske Červené) obtained in 1965 by Dorota Pospíšilová at the VSSVVM research centre for oenology and viticulture in Modra, Slovakia, and authorized in 2011.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Vigorous, regularly productive, late budding and ripening. Largish bunches of small, flavourful berries. Susceptible to botrytis bunch rot and powdery mildew.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Although total plantings in Slovakia are still small (5 ha/12 acres in 2011), Hetera seems best suited to the Južnoslovenská and Malokarpatská wine regions in the south west and to botrytized sweet wines. Žitavské Vinice make a varietal wine in this style.
HIBERNAL
German hybrid planted more widely in the Czech Republic than at home.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Geisenheim 322-58
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Complex self-crossed hybrid obtained in 1944 by Helmut Becker at the Geisenheim research centre in the Rheingau, Germany, by crossing CHANCELLOR × RIESLING with itself (see PRIOR for the complete pedigree of Chancellor).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Good winter-frost resistance and reasonably good resistance to powdery and downy mildews. Sugar level and yield are generally higher than for RIESLING but acidity is lower. Ripens in the first half of October.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Very little Hibernal is planted in Germany (1 ha/2.5 acres) but there are 17 ha (42 acres) – and rising – in the Czech Republic, where it was registered in 2004, mainly in Morava in the south east. Knab in Baden, southern Germany, produce a rare varietal wine. It is also found to a very limited extent in Canada.
Wines are fresh and fruity, in some years rather like SCHEUREBE, and the fruit purity and high levels of extract of the best, fully ripe examples reveal its RIESLING parent. When unripe, it can have a slightly foxy note but this is not usually pronounced. Owing to its complex family history, it is not 100% Vitis vinifera but it is registered as such in the German official list of varieties and is therefore authorized for making quality wine because the wine generally tastes like a vinifera product. This is the case for several other German hybrids such as RONDO.
HIBOU NOIR
See AVANÀ.
HIMBERTSCHA
Swiss variety recently brought back from the brink of extinction.
Berry colour: white
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR HIMBERTSCHA: LAFNETSCHA *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Himbertscha is a rare and old variety originating from the region of Visp in the Haut-Valais, Switzerland. It was rescued from extinction by Josef-Marie Chanton, who in the early 1970s discovered a few vines in an old vineyard that was itself rescued in 2010 by the Association VinEsch. The name Himbertscha has nothing to do with the German Himbeer (strawberry) and most likely comes from im Bercla, a dialect version of the Italian in pergola, which is consistent with the common practice of training the variety in this way. DNA parentage analysis has established that Himbertscha is a progeny of the old Valais variety HUMAGNE, and therefore a half-sibling of LAFNETSCHA (Vouillamoz, Maigre and Meredith 2004). See the pedigree diagram in the COMPLETER entry.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid budding and ripening. Susceptible to botrytis bunch rot.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
With the exception of a few vines in the original VinEsch vineyard in Vispertal, the sole surviving Himbertscha vineyard in the world, just 0.17 ha (0.42 acres) in Varen, is owned by the man who rescued the variety, Josef-Marie Chanton in the Haut-Valais, Switzerland. His varietal wine is floral and citrusy with crisp acidity.
HITZKIRCHER
Swiss rarity found only in the village after which it was named.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Grosse Blaue Mörsch, Hitzkirchener, Hitzkirchler
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR HITZKIRCHER: BONDOLA *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Hitzkircher is an extremely rare variety from the village of Hitzkirch in the canton of Luzern in central Switzerland. It has often been confused with Briegler, which was recently shown to be identical to BONDOLA from Ticino (Frei et al. 2006; Vouillamoz, Frei and Arnold 2008). This makes more sense when we know from DNA parentage analysis that both Hitzkircher and BONDOLETTA from Ticino are distinct natural crosses between COMPLETER from Graubünden and Bondola from Ticino (Vouillamoz and Moriondo 2011).
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
The only varietal Hitzkircher wine is made by Rebbaugesellschaft Hitzkirch in the village in Switzerland of the same name.
HÖLDER
Very minor, distinctly ordinary German cross.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Hoelder, Weinsberg S 397
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A RIESLING × PINOT GRIS (Ruländer) cross obtained in 1955 by August Herold. It was apparently named after the Lauffen am Neckar poet Friedrich Hölderlin.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid to late ripening, regular yields with good sugar levels and moderate acidity. Good resistance to downy mildew and botrytis bunch rot, less so to powdery mildew.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Germany has just 6 ha (15 acres) of this variety, authorized in 1987, scattered across its more southerly wine regions. Wines are unexceptional – reasonably fresh and fruity and lightly aromatic.
HONDARRIBI BELTZA
Rare speciality of northern Spain’s Basque Country related to, and sometimes reminiscent of, Cabernet Franc.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Chacolí (País Vasco), Cruchen Nègre (Béarn), Hondarrabi Beltza (País Vasco), Kurixketu Beltza (Guipúzcoa and Biscaye in Spain), Ondarrabi Beltza (País Vasco), Txakoli (País Vasco), Verde Matza, Xerratu Beltza (Guipúzcoa and Biscaye)
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR HONDARRIBI BELTZA: CABERNET FRANC * (Txakoli vineyards in País Vasco), COURBU NOIR * (Béarn in France)
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Hondarribi Beltza was named after the town of Hondarribia in the province of Guipúzcoa in northern Spain, close to the border with France, and the colour of its berries (beltza means ‘black’ in Basque). It is also called Txakoli or Chacolí, after the name of the vineyards where it is cultivated. It is often interplanted with CABERNET FRANC, with which it is frequently and reasonably confused: DNA parentage analysis has revealed a parent–offspring relationship between Hondarribi Beltza and Cabernet Franc (Boursiquot et al. 2009). In addition, Hondarribi Beltza and FER spontaneously crossed to give birth to Gros Cabernet (Boursiquot et al. 2009; see CABERNET SAUVIGNON’s pedigree), an almost extinct variety from the Gironde in south-west France. Hondarribi Beltza is therefore a member of the Carmenet ampelographic group (see p XXVII; Bisson 2009).
Hondarribi Beltza is not a colour mutation of Hondarribi Zuri (zuri means ‘white’), a name which is, confusingly, used for three varieties planted in the País Vasco: COURBU BLANC, CROUCHEN and the hybrid NOAH. Official Spanish statistics reported 412 ha (1,018 acres) of Hondarribi Zuri in 2008, almost exclusively in the País Vasco, where it is the main white variety in the three principal Basque DOs (Bizkaiko Txakolina, Getariako Txakolina and Arabako Txakolina), but it is difficult to know which of the three varieties are referred to in the statistics and in the varietal wines produced (see below).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Vigorous. Small to medium-sized, compact bunches.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
There were just 7 ha (17 acres) in 2008, almost exclusively in the País Vasco (Basque Country) in northern Spain, where it is the principal variety in the red and rosé wines of the Bizkaiko Txakolina (Chacolí de Bizcaia) DO and in the reds of the Getariako Txakolina (Chacolí de Guetaria) DO. Dondiene Gorrondona make a varietal wine from ancient pre-phylloxera vines. Other producers include Talai Berri and Txomín Etxaniz. Some rosé wines are a blend of the two Hondarribis. Wines are typically high in both alcohol and acidity, potentially also in colour and tannins, and are generally aromatic with some herbaceous notes, sometimes reminiscent of CABERNET FRANC.
HONDARRIBI ZURI
See COURBU BLANC, CROUCHEN and NOAH.
HONIGLER
See MÉZES FEHÉR.
HOROZKARASI
A stay-at-home variety used more for the table than for wine.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Horoz Karası
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR HOROZKARASI: ADAKARASI * (Avşa), ÇALKARASI * (Denizli), KALECIK KARASI (Ankara), PAPAZKARASI (Avşa)
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Horozkarası, literally ‘black rooster’, most likely originates from Kilis province near Gaziantep in south-eastern Turkey, near the border with Syria.
OTHER HYPOTHESES
See ADAKARASI.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid ripening, large berries, productive. Susceptible to botrytis bunch rot and is best suited to a hot climate.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Horozkarası has not travelled far. Today it is grown almost exclusively around Gaziantep, near the Syrian border in the far south of Turkey. Wines are typically deeply coloured, and high in tannin and alcohol, but it is more widely used for the table than for wine and is not generally regarded as a good-quality wine grape. Bırıcık make a varietal wine.
HRON
Recent but promising Slovakian cross producing full-bodied, ageworthy reds.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: CAAB 3/22
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Hron, named after a tributary of the Dunaj (Danube), is a CASTETS × ABOURIOU cross obtained in 1976 by Dorota Pospíšilová at the VSSVVM research centre for oenology and viticulture in Modra, Slovakia. It is a sibling of NITRANKA, RIMAVA and VÁH and was authorized in 2011.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Late budding, mid to late ripening. Susceptible to hard winter frosts and moderately so to powdery mildew but resistant to spring frosts and botrytis bunch rot. Best suited to deep, warm soils.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Hron is not yet widely planted (5 ha/12 acres in 2011) but shows promise, particularly in the Južnoslovenská and Malokarpatská wine regions in south-west Slovakia, for high-quality, deeply coloured, full-bodied, ageworthy reds with some similarity to CABERNET SAUVIGNON. Producers of varietal wines include Chateau Modra and Karol Braniš.
HRVATICA
Recently rescued Croatian variety making pale reds.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Hrvatica Crna, Jarbola * (Matulji), Karbonera, Markolina, Negrara, Negrona
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR HRVATICA: CROATINA *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Hrvatica, meaning ‘Croatian girl’, is an indigenous variety from the area of Kaštelir in Istra (Istria) in north-west Croatia. Having exactly the same etymology, the Italian variety CROATINA has long been considered identical to Hrvatica, but DNA profiling not only rejected this identity (Maletić et al. 1999) but also later showed that Jarbola, a black-berried variety cultivated exclusively in Matulji, north west of Rijeka and close to the Adriatic coast, is identical to Hrvatica.
The white-berried Jarbola is not a colour mutation of the black-berried Jarbola and represents a distinct variety (Sladonja et al. 2007). New plantings were initiated in 2004 and it has been suggested that it be called Jarbola Bijela (bijela meaning ‘white’; Sladonja et al. 2007).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid budding, early to mid ripening, high yields. Very susceptible to downy mildew.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Recommended in all the Istrian wine regions in north-west Croatia but is currently planted only in Bujštine in the far north-western corner of Istra. A project to preserve and rehabilitate Jarbola in the Matulji area was begun in 2003. The grapes are not deeply coloured and are therefore well suited to the production of rosé.
HUMAGNE
Ancient, tangy Swiss variety recently revived in the Valais.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Humagne Blanc *, Humagne Blanche *, Miousat * or Miousap or Mioussat (Pyrénées-Atlantiques in France)
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Humagne is a very old variety from the Valais, southern Switzerland, where it was first mentioned in 1313 as ‘humagny’ (see also RÈZE) on a parchment known as the ‘Registre d’Anniviers’ (Ammann-Doubliez 2007; Vouillamoz 2009a). Recent ampelographic observations and DNA profiling have surprisingly shown that Miousat, still scattered in the vineyards of Jurançon and Monein in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques in south-western France, is identical to Humagne (Bordenave et al. 2007). This makes more sense in the light of DNA parentage analysis revealing a parent–offspring relationship between Humagne and COLOMBAUD (see COMPLETER for the pedigree diagram), an almost extinct variety from Provence in southern France (Vouillamoz and Moriondo 2011). It is therefore quite plausible that Humagne was introduced from southern France to the Valais via the Vallée du Rhône before the thirteenth century, which would also explain its possible Greek etymology based on hylomaneus, meaning ‘vigorous’, the Phocaeans having probably introduced viticulture to southern France (Aebischer 1937; Vouillamoz and Moriondo 2011).
In the Haut-Valais, a natural cross between Humagne and COMPLETER gave birth to LAFNETSCHA, while another natural cross with an unknown and probably extinct variety produced HIMBERTSCHA (Vouillamoz, Maigre and Meredith 2004).
Humagne, often called Humagne Blanc, is not related to Humagne Rouge, the Valais name for CORNALIN from the Valle d’Aosta.
OTHER HYPOTHESES
The name Humagne is often said to derive from the Latin Vinum humanum, allegedly mentioned in old documents and pointing to a Roman origin for this variety. However, no documentary evidence has been found.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Late ripening, extremely vigorous, average but irregular yields. Susceptible to botrytis bunch rot and magnesium deficiency. Smallish berries.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Almost extinct by the mid twentieth century, Humagne was revived at the end of the 1980s and by 2009 its plantings in Switzerland totalled 30 ha (74 acres), exclusively in the Valais. Humagne wines are typically dry and fresh with subtle hints of lime-blossom, moderate alcohol and an elegant texture, developing a resin-like aroma as they age, although they can be very ordinary if yields are not kept low. Recommended producers include Defayes-Crettenand, Mabillard-Fuchs and Montzuettes.
Local legend has it that Humagne wines contain more iron than any other, which is why it is often called vin des accouchées (‘wine for new mothers’) and has traditionally been offered to women who have just given birth. However, chemical analysis has shown this to be a myth and historical documents suggest that it was the medicinal herbs added to hot Humagne (or any other wine) that were responsible for its restorative properties (Pont 2005).
HUMAGNE ROUGE
See CORNALIN.
HUXELREBE
German cross scores highly for yields, ripeness, aroma and acidity but not for subtlety.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Alzey S. 3962
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A CHASSELAS (aka Weisser Gutedel) × Muscat Précoce de Saumur (aka Courtiller Musqué) cross bred in 1927 by Georg Scheu at Alzey, although it is named after the nurseryman Fritz Huxel, who was the first to propagate this variety widely in the 1950s. Muscat Précoce de Saumur is a selfling of PINOT NOIR PRÉCOCE obtained by Auguste Courtiller in 1842.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Very high yielding and manages to produce very high sugar levels – Auslese and above – even in an average year if yields are controlled. This is sometimes the result of its tendency towards millerandage. Good resistance to downy and powdery mildews. Thin skins make it susceptible to botrytis bunch rot but also allow it to benefit from noble rot in the making of sweet wines. Ripens early.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
In Germany there are 635 ha (1,569 acres), predominantly in Rheinhessen (421 ha/1,040 acres) and in the Pfalz (189 ha/467 acres). Wines are often very sweet and tend to be pungently aromatic and full-flavoured, if not desperately subtle, with flavours and aromas of apricot, passion fruit, honey, spice and musk. Only the best examples from producers such as Günter, Friedelsheim, Neckerauer and Wittmann have ageing potential thanks to the variety’s marked acidity.
Huxelrebe was introduced to England in 1972 but the current total of 25 ha (62 acres) is about half what it was twenty years ago. In such a cool climate, Huxelrebe’s reliable ripeness helps to balance the high acidity. It is frequently added to blends such as Chapel Down’s Flint Dry, for example, but also used to make dessert wines.