RABIGATO
Potentially high-quality, high-acid Douro variety.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Baldsena, Carrega Besta, Estreito, Muscatel Bravo, Não Há, Puesta en Cruz * (Arribes del Duero in Spain), Rabigato Respigueiro, Rabo de Asno, Rabo de Carneiro (Minho), Rabo de Gato (Minho), Rodrigo Affonso
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR RABIGATO: DONZELINHO BRANCO *, MALVASIA FINA *, RABO DE OVELHA *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Rabigato comes from the Douro in northern Portugal, where it is grown almost exclusively (Rolando Faustino, personal communication). It was first mentioned as Rabigato Respigueiro in Trás-os-Montes in 1711 by Vicêncio Alarte in his ‘Agricultura das vinhas’ (Galet 2000). The name Rabigato is a contraction of one of its synonyms, Rabo de Gato, meaning ‘cat’s tail’ (Galet 2000), referring to its long clusters. Other synonyms make similar references: Rabo de Asno means ‘donkey’s tail’ and Rabo de Carneiro means ‘sheep’s tail’. Recent DNA studies have suggested a possible genetic link between Rabigato and TINTA FRANCISCA (Castro et al. 2011).
Rabigato from the Douro should not be confused with RABO DE OVELHA, which is also known as Rabigato in the Minho in north-western Portugal. Although the names are confusing, they are quite easy to distinguish in the vineyard because their leaves are so different.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Early budding and early to mid ripening. Thin-skinned berries. Susceptible to downy and powdery mildews and botrytis bunch rot.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Rabigato is widely grown in the Douro, particularly in the Douro Superior in the east of the region, but is rarely made as a varietal wine. Such wines tend to be fresh, vibrant, fairly high in alcohol and very high in acidity with aromas of lemon and orange blossom as well as having vegetal or mineral notes. When carefully made, the wines have impressive length and are worth ageing in bottle. There were 2,542 ha (6,281 acres) in Portugal in 2010. Given the variety’s high acidity, it is often blended with lower-acid varieties such as FERNÃO PIRES, SÍRIA, Gouveio (GODELLO) and VIOSINHO. Varietal wines are, unusually, made by Dona Berta, João Brito e Cunha, CARM and Quinta do Carrenho. It is also used in the production of port.
RABO DE OVELHA
Undemonstrative Portuguese variety making whites for early drinking.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Fernan Piriz * (Spain), Rabo de Ovella
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR RABO DE OVELHA: RABIGATO * (Douro)
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Rabo de Ovelha, meaning ‘ewe’s tail’ and referring to the shape of the bunch, probably originates in the Alentejo region in southern Portugal, where the greatest genetic diversity has been observed (Lopes et al. 2006). It is often confused with RABIGATO from the Douro but their DNA profiles in Almadanim et al. (2007) are distinct, and it is not a colour mutation of Rabo de Ovelha Tinto, which is a synonym for NEGRAMOLL (Martín et al. 2006; Veloso et al. 2010).
DNA parentage analysis has shown that Rabo de Ovelha has a likely parent–offspring relationship with CAYETANA BLANCA from the Iberian peninsula (Zinelabidine et al. 2012; see Cayetana Blanca for the pedigree diagram).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Vigorous, productive, mid budding, mid to late ripening. Large, compact bunches of thick-skinned berries. Susceptible to water stress, powdery mildew and botrytis bunch rot. Resistant to coulure.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Widely planted in the Alentejo in southern Portugal and also found further north in Beiras, Rabo de Ovelha produces lightly aromatic wines without great intensity, usually blended with other varieties and best drunk young. J Portugal Ramos’ Loios is a blend of Rabo de Ovelha with Roupeiro (SÍRIA), and Carmim (the Reguengos de Monsaraz co-operative) include it in several white blends. There were 957 ha (2,365 acres) in Portugal in 2010.
RABOSO PIAVE
Often tough Veneto variety needing careful handling and long ageing to produce high-quality wine. Parent of Raboso Veronese.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Friulara di Bagnoli (Padova), Friularo * (Padova), Raboso del Piave, Raboso Nostrano
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR RABOSO PIAVE: GROPPELLO GENTILE *, RABOSO VERONESE *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Raboso Piave and RABOSO VERONESE are very similar old varieties from the Veneto in northern Italy, where they have often been confused. However, morphological and DNA profiling has now clearly established that they are distinct varieties (Crespan, Cancellier et al. 2006). Recent DNA profiling has suggested a possible parent–offspring relationship with FOGARINA (Myles et al. 2011).
Raboso Piave most likely originates from the plains of the River Piave in the Veneto north of Venezia. The name Raboso could derive from the local dialect rabioso, used to describe unripe fruit, possibly in reference to the variety’s astringency. Alternatively, Raboso could have been named after a tributary of the River Piave, although no Raboso vines have ever been found there. In the province of Padova, Raboso Piave is called Friulara or Friularo, probably because this grape was introduced from Friuli in the seventeenth or eighteenth century by the De Vidiman family, who owned a villa in Bagnoli. However, this does not necessarily signify a Friulian origin for Raboso Piave because at that time the River Piave marked the Friuli boundary.
DNA profiling showed unexpectedly that Raboso Friularo is not a synonym of Raboso Piave but of RABOSO VERONESE (Salmaso et al. 2008). Raboso Piave, already mentioned in 1679, is much older than Raboso Veronese, which was not mentioned until the nineteenth century (Calò, Francini et al. 2008). This is consistent with the results of DNA parentage analysis, which show that Raboso Veronese is a Raboso Piave × MARZEMINA BIANCA cross (Crespan, Cancellier et al. 2006; see REFOSCO DAL PEDUNCOLO ROSSO and PINOT pedigree diagrams).
GRAPARIOL, also called Rabosina Bianca, is a rare variety from the province of Treviso that was often believed to be a white mutation of Raboso Piave but recent DNA profiling has showed there is no direct relationship between Grapariol and either Raboso Piave or RABOSO VERONESE (Crespan et al. 2009). Finally, it should also be noted that MANZONI MOSCATO is a Raboso Piave × MUSCAT OF HAMBURG cross.
OTHER HYPOTHESES
Raboso Piave is supposed to have been domesticated from local wild vines and was supposedly mentioned in the thirteenth century under the name Vinum Plavense. There is no evidence for these hypotheses. It has also been suggested that the name derives from the Italian word rabbioso, meaning ‘angry’, presumably a reference to consumer reactions at tasting a wine with such high acidity and rough tannins.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Robust and vigorous vine. Late ripening (end of October). High tannin content. Resistant to downy mildew, botrytis bunch rot, sour rot and esca but susceptible to powdery mildew.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Raboso Piave has a reputation for astringent tannins and high acidity, though proponents claim that this reputation is partly because the grapes were in the past not fully ripe at harvest and that the grape can be tamed in the winery and by extended bottle ageing to produce high-quality wines. It is planted right across the Veneto, northern Italy, often interplanted with the less common RABOSO VERONESE. Of all the Raboso plantings today, about 90% are Raboso Piave and 10% Raboso Veronese. About 80% of the Raboso Piave vineyards are in the province of Treviso, the rest in the provinces of Padova, in particular in the neighbourhood of Bagnoli di Sopra, where it is known under the name Friularo, and Venezia, between the Piave and Livenza rivers.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Raboso Piave plantings decreased in favour of softer and easier-to-sell international varieties such as MERLOT and CABERNET FRANC but the Confraternita del Raboso Piave (Brotherhood of Raboso Piave), established in 1996 at the instigation of Cecchetto (which has the biggest vineyard holdings of this variety) and other local producers, is making strenous efforts to safeguard and promote the variety. There were 1,330 ha (3,287 acres) planted in Italy in 2000, according to the agricultural census, but the total had shrunk to around 1,100 ha (2,718 acres) by 2008.
Today Raboso Piave is used to make not only deeply coloured, firmly tannic reds but also rosé and sparkling wines, both dry and sweet. Varietal wines are authorized in DOCs such as Bagnoli di Sopra, Corti Benedettine del Padovano and Riviera del Brenta (labelled Friularo in the first). Although the tannins can be aggressive, emphasized by the naturally high acidity (useful as a minor component in blends), improved winemaking and maturation are showing this variety’s real potential. For example, Cecchetto’s full-bodied and ageworthy Amarone-style Gelsaia has complex aromas and flavours of ripe black fruits, liqueur de cassis, almonds and fresh mint, and although the tannins are firm, they are ripe and in balance with the fruit and the freshness on the finish. Villa Sandi make an interesting, lightly sweet, late-harvest passito-style wine. Other recommended producers include Bonotto delle Tezze, Casa Roma and Italo Cescon.
RABOSO VERONESE
Makes tannic Veneto red, often used for sparkling wines, and often confused with its parent, the more common Raboso Piave.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Rabosa, Raboso di Verona, Raboso Friularo *
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR RABOSO VERONESE: GRUAJA *, NEGRARA VERONESE *, RABOSO PIAVE *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Raboso Veronese and RABOSO PIAVE are very similar old varieties from the Veneto, where they have often been confused. However, morphological and DNA profiling has now clearly established that they are distinct varieties (Crespan, Cancellier et al. 2006). Raboso Veronese was first mentioned in the province of Treviso in the nineteenth century whereas Raboso Piave was already mentioned in 1679 (Calò, Francini et al. 2008).
As Raboso Veronese is – surprisingly – not cultivated in the province of Verona today, its name was long thought to derive from a man named Veronesi who was responsible for the spread of the variety. However, DNA parentage analysis has revealed that Raboso Veronese is a RABOSO PIAVE × MARZEMINA BIANCA cross that probably occurred at the Azienda dei Conti Papadopoli in Cologna Veneta (Crespan, Cancellier et al. 2006), a village in the province of Verona (see REFOSCO DAL PEDUNCOLO ROSSO pedigree diagram). This recent discovery points again to Verona as the birthplace of Raboso Veronese, suggesting its name is fully deserved geographically.
Since MARZEMINA BIANCA is likely to be a natural cross between MARZEMINO and GARGANEGA (Salmaso et al. 2008; Vouillamoz), two important and historical northern Italian varieties, Raboso Veronese is their probable grandchild. Remarkably, DNA profiling showed that Raboso Friularo is a synonym for Raboso Veronese, and Friularo a synonym for RABOSO PIAVE (Salmaso et al. 2008). It should also be noted that FERTILIA is a MERLOT × Raboso Veronese cross.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Robust, vigorous and late ripening; productive and consistent yields. Susceptible to powdery mildew.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Raboso Veronese is cultivated mainly in the south east of the Veneto, Italy, in the provinces of Treviso, Venezia, Vicenza and Rovigo, and to a lesser extent in the provinces of Ferrara and Ravenna in Emilia-Romagna and in Friuli. Raboso Veronese is often interplanted with RABOSO PIAVE. The Italian agricultural census of 2000 recorded total plantings of 340 ha (840 acres).
Raboso Veronese is authorized in the sparkling, rosé and passito versions of the Bagnoli di Sopra DOC and in Colli Euganei DOC; a varietal wine, labelled simply Raboso, may be made within the Vicenza DOC. Sparkling rosé wines are not uncommon, presumably because of the high acidity and sweet fruit flavours. The wines tend to be less tannic than those made from RABOSO PIAVE although the two varieties are often blended since they may well be interplanted and are still widely confused, despite the DNA evidence of their separate identities.
In 2008 there were also limited plantings of Raboso Veronese of around 50 ha (124 acres) in Argentina, divided between the Mendoza and San Juan wine regions.
RAC 3209
Rare Swiss cross producing deeply coloured wines.
Berry colour: black
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
RAC 3209 was bred from undisclosed parents at the Caudoz viticultural research centre in Pully, just outside Lausanne, Switzerland, today part of Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil, formerly called RAC (Recherche Agronomique Changins), hence the name.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Early to mid ripening. Good general disease resistance but susceptible to downy mildew.
WHERE IT’S GROWN
Weingut zum Frohhof in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland, have a tiny parcel of RAC 3209. They value its deep colour and include it in blends.
RACHULI TETRA
See TSULUKIDZIS TETRA.
RADISSON
Another dark-skinned American hybrid that has found its way to Québec, although its exact identity is unclear.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: ES 5-17
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Radisson is said to be a seedling of an Elmer Swenson 593 vine obtained by Elmer Swenson in Osceola, Wisconsin, US, in which Elmer Swenson 593 is an Elmer Swenson 80 × VILLARD BLANC hybrid (see BRIANNA for their pedigrees). However, what is cultivated in Canada under the name ES 5-17 or Radisson might not be the original ES 5-17 with female-only flowers but a distinct and unknown variety with complete male and female flowers (Hart nd).
WHERE IT’S GROWN
Like several other Swenson hybrids, this seems to be more widely planted in Québec, Canada, than in the American Midwest. Several producers, including Domaine de la Source à Marguerite, use it in blends with varieties such as MARÉCHAL FOCH, FRONTENAC and SABREVOIS.
RAFFIAT DE MONCADE
Rare south-west French vine often confused with Arrufiac.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Arréfiat (Béarn), Arrufiat, Raffiat (Béarn), Refiat (Jurançon), Ruffiac
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR RAFFIAT DE MONCADE: ARRUFIAC * (called Raffiat in Béarn and the Landes)
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Raffiat de Moncade is an old variety from Béarn in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and from the Landes (mainly Orthez, Salies and Lagor) in south-west France, where it shares several synonyms with ARRUFIAC, with which it has often been confused. The first reliable reference to Raffiat de Moncade was probably the one made by Jean-Alexandre Cavoleau in 1827 (Rézeau 1997): ‘dans les Basses-Pyrénées, les vins blancs de Jurançon sont produits par le refiat, le menseing gros et petit, le claverie, l’aulhan, le courtoisie’ (‘in the Basse-Pyrénées, white wines from Jurançon are produced by refiat . . .’ etc.). Raffiat de Moncade is an offspring of GOUAIS BLANC (Boursiquot et al. 2004; see PINOT pedigree diagram).
Like ARROUYA and ARRUFIAC, Raffiat could derive from arro(u)y, meaning ‘red’ in the Béarnese dialect, while rufe means ‘rough’. The name Moncade is a reference to an old and noble family from Béarn whose name was also given to the ‘Tour Moncade’, built in 1242 by Gaston VII de Moncade in Orthez, the historical location of the Raffiat de Moncade vineyard.
Raffiat de Moncade was used to breed ARRILOBA.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Early budding, mid ripening. Relatively productive with loose bunches of very small berries. Shows little susceptibility to powdery mildew.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Even though Raffiat de Moncade is recommended in the Gers, Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques départements and is one of the principal varieties officially authorized for the Béarn appellation, total plantings in France in 2008 were just 9 ha (22 acres), down from 86 ha (213 acres) in 1979. Wines tend to be rather neutral and alcoholic. Pascal Lapeyre of Domaine Guilhemas produces one of the very rare examples of varietal Raffiat, which he describes as rounded with aromas of pear, apple and flowers.
RAISIN BLANC
See SERVANT.
RAJINSKI RIESLING
See RIESLING.
RAMANDOLO
See VERDUZZO FRIULANO.
RAMISCO
Demanding and endangered Portuguese variety that produces wines aggressive in youth but elegant after considerable time in bottle.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Rasmisco nos Açores
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Ramisco originates in Portugal’s Colares region, north east of Lisboa. According to recent DNA studies, TRINCADEIRA from the Alentejo and SERCIAL from Lisboa could be genetically close to Ramisco (Almadanim et al. 2007).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mostly ungrafted vines planted in sand over clay. Late budding and ripening. Small, thick-skinned berries.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Ramisco is the variety of the Colares DO, the threatened, Atlantic-whipped sandy vineyards on the coast north west of Lisboa, Portugal. They are challenged not only by the city’s encroachment but also because the variety is difficult to grow since it has to be planted in trenches several metres deep to anchor the plant in the clay soils below the sand, yields are low and the wines are generally approachable only after several years in bottle thanks to high acidity and powerful tannins. The sand does, however, mean that the vines can be planted on their own roots since phylloxera cannot survive here. It is hardly surprising that there were just 23 ha (57 acres) of Ramisco remaining in 2010 but it is a shame since these rarefied wines, once aged, can become elegant and aromatic – a complex mix of flavours that include fresh meat, mushrooms, wet earth and cedar. Alcohol is generally low at around 11 or 11.5% (Rolando Faustino, personal communication). Recommended producers include Monte Cascas, Quinta das Vinhas de Areia and Paulo da Silva.
RANAC BIJELI
Almost extinct, intensely flavoured Croatian island variety.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Ranac Silbijanski Bijeli, Silbijanac Bijeli
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Ranac Bijeli, literally ‘early white’, is an almost extinct variety from the islands of Pag and Silba (hence its synonyms), north of Zadar, in Croatia.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Early ripening and high sugar level in the berries, therefore at risk from wasps and children.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
A few vines of Ranac Bijeli can still be found in old vineyards on the islands of Pag and Silba in the northern Adriatic. It is currently part of a revitalization project involving clonal selection and replanting of autochthonous Croatian varieties. Although it has quality potential, its main advantage of full flavour and early ripening also make it unpopular with growers as they lose so much of the crop to sweet-toothed wasps.
RANFOL
Variety with Slovenian origins making humdrum whites there and in Croatia.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Belina Pleterje * (Slovenia), Plavis, Praskava Belina, Ranfol Beli, Ranfol Bijeli (Croatia), Sremska Lipovina, Štajerska Belina, Urbanka, Vrbanka
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR RANFOL: GOUAIS BLANC *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
This variety probably originates in Štajerska Slovenija (Slovenian Styria) or possibly from the north of neighbouring Croatia. It should not be confused with GOUAIS BLANC, of which it is a possible offspring (Štajner et al. 2008). The common synonym Štajerska Belina simply means ‘Styria white’.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Productive. Large, compact bunches.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Ranfol produces light and relatively neutral whites. There were 210 ha (519 acres) in Croatia in 2009, mainly in the Slavonija, Moslavina, Prigorje-Biogora and Pokupjle wine regions in Kontinentalna Hrvatska (Continental Croatia). Plantings in Slovenia are smaller still (36 ha/89 acres in 2009), divided fairly evenly between the wine regions of Podravje and Posavje in the east of the country. Recommended producers there include Ptujska Klet.
RANNA MELNISHKA LOZA
Bulgarian cross with good potential but lacking recognition.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Early Melnik, Melnik 55, Melnishka Ranna, Ranna Melnishka
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR RANNA MELNISHKA LOZA: MELNIK 82 *, SHIROKA MELNISHKA *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Ranna Melnishka Loza, literally ‘early Melnik grape’, is a SHIROKA MELNISHKA × VALDIGUIÉ cross obtained in 1963 by Yane Atanasov and his colleagues Z Zankov and G Karamitev at the Sandanski research centre (now Sintica Winery) in south-west Bulgaria. The breeders made a series of crossings using a mixture of pollens from the three French varieties DURIF, JURANÇON NOIR and Valdiguié to create an early-ripening variety with the characteristics of Shiroka Melnishka. The seedling that was initially named Melnik 55 was later officially christened Ranna Melnishka Loza. DNA parentage analysis has finally established that Valdiguié was the other parent of sibling varieties Ranna Melnishka Loza and MELNIK 82 (Hvarleva, Russanov et al. 2005). It was not commercially vinified until the late 1990s.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid ripening, fertile and productive. Susceptible to downy and powdery mildews but virtually resistant to botrytis bunch rot. Relatively compact bunches of thick-skinned berries.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Although there were 546 ha (1,349 acres) of Ranna Melnishka Loza in Bulgaria in 2009, almost all in the Struma Valley in the far south west of the country, the variety struggles for recognition because it is often thought to be the same as SHIROKA MELNISHKA and both are often referred to simply as Melnik. Logodaj produce both red and rosé varietal wines, Sintica an oak-aged red. The wines are said to have sweet and sour cherry flavours and a note of spice, with rounded tannins, respectable levels of alcohol and fresh acidity.
RARĂ NEAGRĂ
See BĂBEASCĂ NEAGRĂ.
RASPIROSSO
Also known as Raspi Rosso or Raspo Rosso, a dark-skinned variety from Toscano, Italy, used to add colour to SANGIOVESE-based wines.
RASTAJOLA
Minor variety from northern Piemonte encountered in blends.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Durera (Novara), Restajola
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR RASTAJOLA: Erbaluce Nero (Canavese), NERETTO DURO * (or Durasa in Novara)
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Rastajola probably comes from northern Piemonte, where it was once widespread. It is often confused with NERETTO DURO, or with Erbaluce Nero in the Canavese in the province of Torino (Schneider and Mannini 2006), a non-cultivated variety that is not a colour mutation of ERBALUCE.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid ripening. Robust vine, susceptible to millerandage and downy mildew. Vigorous but with slightly erratic yields.
WHERE IT’S GROWN
Rastajola is cultivated here and there in the communes of Sizzano, Ghemme, Fara and Romagnano Sesia in the province of Novara in north-east Piemonte, north-west Italy. It is nearly always blended with other local varieties such as VESPOLINA and NEBBIOLO.
RÁTHAY
Rare, disease-resistant Austrian hybrid making wines for early drinking.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Klosterneuburg 1355-3-33, Ráthay Noir
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A Klosterneuburg 1189-9-77 × BLAUBURGER hybrid obtained in 1970 by Gertrude Mayer at the Klosterneuburg research centre in Austria (see ROESLER for the pedigree of Klosterneuburg 1189-9-77), making it a half-sibling of Roesler. Ráthay was named after Emerich Ráthay (1845–1900), second director of Klosterneuburg.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Good resistance to downy mildew.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Ráthay is planted mainly in Burgenland (total area c.10 ha/25 acres) and produces soft, early-drinking reds. Varietal wines are made by Trabauer (Niederösterreich/Lower Austria), Taurot (Burgenland) and Edenhof (Weinviertel), for example.
RÄUSCHLING
Historic, rare German variety experiencing a small revival in Switzerland.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Dretsch or Drutsch or Drutscht (Rheinland-Pfalz), Großer Räuschling (north-eastern France), Klöpfer (Rheinland-Pfalz), Offenburger (Rheinland-Pfalz), Räuschling Weiss, Reuschling, Ruchelin (France), Weisser Räuschling, Zürirebe (northern Switzerland), Züriwiss (northern Switzerland)
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR RÄUSCHLING: COMPLETER * (Zürich), KNIPPERLÉ * (Alsace), RIESLING * (Rheinland-Pfalz and Württemberg)
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Räuschling is a very old variety from the Rheintal (Rhine Valley) in Germany that was grown in the Middle Ages in what is now Rheinland-Pfalz and Württemberg in southern Germany, Alsace in north-eastern France, as well as northern and western Switzerland. According to Aeberhard (2005), the earliest mention of this variety appeared under its old synonym Drutsch(t) in Hieronymus Bock’s (1546) Kreutterbuch in the region of Landau in Rheinland-Pfalz. A clearer reference to the name Raüschling is found in Franken in a request from Graf Philip Ernest von Hohenlohe-Langenburg, dated 12 December 1614, to replace GOUAIS BLANC (Hünnisch) by a selection of better varieties including Reuschling and ELBLING (Dornfeld 1868). The modern spelling was first mentioned by Michael Sorg in 1759 in Schaffhausen, along with its synonym Zürirebe, meaning ‘grape from Zürich’ (Aeberhard 2005). The name Räuschling could derive from rauschen, referring to the sound of the wind going through the dense foliage of this variety, or alternatively from Russling, Rus meaning ‘dark wood’.
A preliminary DNA parentage analysis tentatively suggesting that Räuschling could be a natural GOUAIS BLANC × SAVAGNIN cross (Maul 2006), just like its siblings PETIT MESLIER and AUBIN BLANC in northern France (see PINOT pedigree diagram), has been confirmed by the analysis of fifty DNA markers (Vouillamoz). This parentage explains why Räuschling was sometimes erroneously called Grosser Traminer (Traminer is the name used for Savagnin in German-speaking regions), and why it was called Grosser Räuschling in north-eastern France to distinguish it from Kleiner Räuschling, a synonym for KNIPPERLÉ in Alsace, which is also a progeny of Gouais Blanc.
A red-berried Räuschling Rot, also called Blauer Räuschling or Gelbhölzer, was often mentioned in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature but was thought to be extinct until it was found in a Swiss grape collection, showing the same DNA profile as Räuschling, making it a colour mutation (Vouillamoz, Frei and Arnold 2008).
Although Räuschling shares the synonym Zürirebe with COMPLETER, the two varieties are quite distinct.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid budding, early to mid ripening. Productive if pruned long but subject to coulure and millerandage. Compact bunches of small berries with a strong tendency to split near harvest and contract botrytis bunch rot.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Räuschling has now virtually disappeared from Alsace and Germany and is found only in German-speaking Switzerland (23 ha/57 acres in 2009), especially in the canton of Zürich in the north east. It produces light wines with citrus notes and typically high acidity. One of the best and most ageworthy Räuschlings is made by Hermann Schwarzenbach by the Zürichsee (Lake Zürich). Other notable producers in Switzerland include Erich Meier in Zürich and Weinstamm in Schaffhausen.
RAVAT BLANC
Mediocre light-skinned Mâconnais hybrid on its way out.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Rava 6 or Ravat 6, Ravat Chardonnay 6, Ravat Chardonnay B
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A complex hybrid obtained in the 1930s by J F Ravat in Marcigny, eastern central France, by crossing Seibel 5474 (or Seibel 8724 according to some authors) × CHARDONNAY, where Seibel 5474 is a Seibel 405 × Seibel 867 cross, and Seibel 867 is a Vivarais × NOAH cross (see PRIOR for the complete Seibel 405 and Vivarais pedigrees).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Early budding, mid ripening. Not very fertile and best pruned long. Good resistance to downy mildew but very susceptible to powdery mildew, botrytis bunch rot and anthracnose. Must be grafted. Bunches and berries are small and the ripe berries are sometimes slightly pink.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Wines are generally rather mediocre and susceptible to oxidation. Even though this variety is included in the official register of varieties in France, total plantings are shrinking, from 600 ha (1,483 acres) in 1958 to just 7 ha (17 acres) in 2008. Domaine Mondon-Demeuré, specialists in obscure and forgotten varieties, produce a varietal version (classified as a vin de France) north west of Saint-Étienne in the Rhône.
There are still scattered plantings in the Finger Lakes of New York State (Bully Hill make a very sweet version), and elsewhere in the north-eastern US, but not enough to make it into the official statistics.
RAYON D’OR
Minor but relatively successful French hybrid once popular in the Loire. Begat Seyval Blanc and Vidal.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Feherek Kiralya, Roi des Blancs, Seibel 4986, Zlatni Luc, Zokoy Loloutch
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A complex hybrid obtained at the beginning of the twentieth century by Albert Seibel in Aubenas, west of Montélimar in south-eastern France, by crossing Seibel 405 × Aramon du Gard (see PRIOR for the complete pedigrees of Seibel 405 and Aramon du Gard).
Rayon d’Or was used to breed SEYVAL BLANC, SEYVAL NOIR and VIDAL, the first and the last having been more successful than their parent, especially in colder climates.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Late budding and early ripening. Good resistance to powdery mildew, black rot and downy mildew.
WHERE IT’S GROWN
There were just 6 ha (15 acres) of Rayon d’Or in France in 2008 although it was once authorized and widely grown in the Loire (6,965 ha/17,211 acres in 1958) when vineyards were replanted in the wake of phylloxera. It has also found its way across the Atlantic and is found to a very limited extent in the American states as far apart as Missouri and New Jersey, for example, but has not achieved the success of its offspring VIDAL.
REBERGER
Recent, disease-resistant German hybrid.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Geilweilerhof 86-2-60
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A REGENT × BLAUFRÄNKISCH hybrid obtained in 1986 by Rudolf Eibach and Reinhard Töpfer at the Geilweilerhof research centre, released in 2004 but not yet authorized for quality wine production in Germany.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Yields are lower than for REGENT but sugar levels are generally higher. Moderate resistance to downy and powdery mildews.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Wines can be powerful and have well-integrated tannins, similar to BLAUFRÄNKISCH, but more deeply coloured. Among the few producers of varietal Reberger wines are Højbakke Vineyard in Denmark and, in Germany, Eberle in the Pfalz and Dr Lawall in Rheinhessen. The Geilweilerhof research centre also sell their bottling of this variety.
REBO
Rather promising red cross made in Trentino.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Incrocio Rigotti 107-3
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Rebo is number 107-3 in a series of crossings obtained in 1948 by Rebo Rigotti at the San Michele all’Adige research centre between Verona and Bolzano in Trentino, northern Italy, and selected for its disease resistance and good production. Rigotti described this cross as MERLOT × MARZEMINO but recent DNA profiling has revealed that Rebo is a Merlot × TEROLDEGO cross (Malossini et al. 2000).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Vigorous, mid to late ripening. Resistant to fungal diseases.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Rebo is cultivated in Trentino, northern Italy, mainly in San Michele all’Adige, Volano and Calavino near Trento, as well as in Cavedine and Padergnone (Rigotti’s birthplace) in the Valle dei Laghi west of Trento. Although the variety is also planted in other areas, varietal wines are made only within the Trentino DOC, by producers such as Dorigati, the Istituto Agrario di San Michele all’Adige and Pisoni. They can be rich, full-bodied and well suited to barrel maturation. There were 39 ha (96 acres) in Italy in 2000, according to the agricultural census.
It is also found in Brazil, where Aurora are experimenting with Rebo in Serra Gaúcha.
RECANTINA
An old black-berried variety from the province of Treviso in the Veneto, northern Italy, where it was considered among the best as early as the seventeenth century under the name Recardina or Recandina. It was on the brink of extinction until recently, when it was rescued by viticulturists at the Conegliano research centre in the Veneto, who found at least three distinct local varieties under this equivocal name in the province of Treviso (Cancellier et al. 2007): Recantina a Pecolo Scuro (dark stalk), Recantina a Pecolo Rosso (red stalk) and Recantina Forner (named after the winery where it was found). It is not known which one is the true old Recantina, maybe all three of them, but for now only the Recantina Forner has been registered in the official Italian register of varieties. One of the rare varietal Recantinas is made by Serafini & Vidotto, a very smooth and confident wine with luscious blackberry fruit flavours.
REFOSCO
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Refoschin, Refošk, Rifòsc, Rifosco
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
The earliest mention of Refosco appeared in a document referring to a famous banquet held in Cividale on 6 June 1409 in honour of Pope Gregory XII at which the following wines were served: Ribolla from Rosazzo, Verduzzo from Faedis, Ramandolo from Torlano, Refosco from Albana and Marzemino from Gradiscutta (Peterlunger et al. 2004).
Refosco is later mentioned several times in Friuli (Calò 2005) but its identity is uncertain because Refosco or Refošk is a name used in northern Italy and Slovenia for several distinct varieties often referred to as the Refoschi family. Using ampelography and DNA profiling, Costacurta et al. (2005) distinguished six varieties among the Refoschi:
– REFOSCO DAL PEDUNCOLO ROSSO, the most widespread variety
– REFOSCO DI FAEDIS, also called Refoscone, Refosco Nostrano, Refosco di Ronchis (Cipriani et al. 1994)
– Refosco d’Istria, identical to Refošk in Slovenia (Kozjak et al. 2003) and with TERRANO or Teran in Istra (Istria), Croatia (Maletić et al. 1999)
– Refosco di Guarnieri, identical to TREVISANA NERA (Crespan, Giannetto et al. 2008)
– Refosco del Botton, identical to TAZZELENGHE (Costacurta et al. 2005)
– Refosco di Rauscedo, or Refosco Gentile, not officially registered in Italy and almost extinct.
In addition, both Refosco del Botton and Refosco di Rauscedo showed a likely parent–offspring relationship with REFOSCO DI FAEDIS (Costacurta et al. 2005).
OTHER HYPOTHESES
Like PROSECCO, Refosco has often been erroneously identified with the Pucinum mentioned by Pliny the Elder as a variety cultivated on rocks in Istra, and Refosco is also considered a polyclonal variety, a concept that does not fit with the understanding of variety followed in this book (see pp XIV–XVI).
Some authors suggest that Refosco is identical to a variety called Racimulus Fuscus by the Romans and from which its name supposedly derives.
REFOSCO DAL PEDUNCOLO ROSSO
Most widely planted Refosco with complex family history making tart but potentially interesting reds in Friuli and Slovenia.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Rifòsc dal Pecòl Ròss
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR REFOSCO DAL PEDUNCOLO ROSSO: BONARDA PIEMONTESE *, MONDEUSE NOIRE * (California), REFOSCO DI FAEDIS *, TERRANO *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso (meaning ‘red pedicel’, or ‘red stem’) is the best known of the Refoschi, a group of closely related varieties from the Karst plateau on the Italian–Slovenian border. It is not known whether the Refosco mentioned in this region from 1409 onwards was identical to Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso or to another member of the Refoschi. The name Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso appeared for the first time around 1870, when ampelographers started to distinguish this variety from the other Refoschi.
The widespread confusion between Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso and MONDEUSE NOIRE probably started life some years ago at the Foundation Plant Services at the University of California at Davis (Nelson-Kluk 2005). A vine named Refosco was collected some time before 1966 by Austin Goheen from the Jackson experimental vineyard established in Amador County in the 1880s by the University of California at Berkeley’s Eugene Hilgard. In the 1990s, European ampelographers identified this variety as Mondeuse Noire, as did DNA profiling some time later, so that Refosco and Mondeuse Noire were said to be synonyms. However, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, DNA profiling revealed that this American Refosco matched neither the original Italian Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso nor any other variety of the Refosco group: this was simply a misnamed Mondeuse Noire.
Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso is also often confused with TERRANO or Teran from Istra (Istria) but a comparison of their DNA profiles disproves this hypothesis (Vouillamoz).
DNA parentage studies have provided evidence that Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso is a progeny of MARZEMINO (Grando et al. 2006). Since Marzemino and LAGREIN are both progenies of TEROLDEGO, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso turns out to be a grandchild of Teroldego and a nephew/niece of Lagrein, as shown in the diagram. In addition, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso is a parent of CORVINA VERONESE and a grandparent of RONDINELLA. The historical geographic distribution of the varieties involved in the pedigree of Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso strongly anchors its roots in north-eastern Italy.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Late ripening. Susceptible to downy mildew and phomopsis, less so to powdery mildew; resistant to autumn rains, botrytis bunch rot and esca. Smaller berries so generally more phenolics than REFOSCO DI FAEDIS.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso is widely cultivated in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and in the Veneto in northern Italy, both on hillsides and on flatter land. Varietal wines are authorized in many DOCs in both the Veneto (eg Lison-Pramaggiore, Riviera del Brenta) and in Friuli (eg Colli Orientali del Friuli, Friuli Aquileia, Friuli Isonzo). The wines are deeply coloured with flavours of plums and sometimes a hint of almonds; they are usually medium-bodied but the acidity can be quite high because the grapes ripen notoriously late. Interest in Refosco increased in the 1980s, leading to greater care in the vineyard and winery and a general improvement in quality, although experiments with small-barrel ageing have not been universally successful. The most promising zone for Refosco is the Colli Orientali and the Koper district in Slovenia. Others include Grave del Friuli, Lison-Pramaggiore (outside Friuli), Latisana and Aquileia. There were 720 ha (1,779 acres) in Italy in 2000, according to the agricultural census.
Recommended producers in Italy include Alberice, Anna Berra, Bosco del Merlo, Livio Felluga, Iole Grillo, Moschioni, Paladin, Tenuta Pinni, La Roncaia, Russolo, Tenuta Santa Anna, Santa Margherita, Vignai da Duline.
Given the political rather than viticultural origins of the border between Italy and Slovenia, and the fact that Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso may be confused with TERRANO in the vineyard, it is quite likely that there are some Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso vines in Slovenian vineyards bordering Gorizia. However, the majority of vines known as Refošk in Slovenia are Terrano.
American wines labelled Refosco may well be MONDEUSE NOIRE. The odd Refosco is produced in Greece.
Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso Pedigree Diagram
This northern Italian web of natural crosses encompasses most of the varieties used for Valpolicella as well as the traditional TEROLDEGO, LAGREIN and MARZEMINO. Inverse relationships are also theoretically possible when unknown (and probably extinct) varieties (?) are involved (see p X).
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REFOSCO DI FAEDIS
A relatively minor but perfumed Friuli Refosco enthusiastically supported by a local growers’ association.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Refosco di Ronchis *, Refosco Nostrano *, Refoscone *
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR REFOSCO DI FAEDIS: REFOSCO DAL PEDUNCOLO ROSSO *, TERRANO *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Refosco di Faedis is thought to originate in the area between Faedis, Cividale and Torreano to the west of the city of Udine in Friuli. DNA profiling has shown that Refosco di Faedis is distinct from REFOSCO DAL PEDUNCOLO ROSSO and identical to Refoscone, Refosco Nostrano and Refosco di Ronchis (Cipriani et al. 1994; Costacurta et al. 2005). DNA analysis has also provided evidence of likely parent–offspring relationships with both TAZZELENGHE (or Refosco del Botton) and Refosco di Rauscedo (Costacurta et al. 2005), the latter identical to Refosco Gentile in Crespan et al. (2011) but no longer cultivated.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Vigorous, late ripening.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Refosco di Faedis used to be widespread across Friuli, north-east Italy, especially in its homeland in the province of Udine, between Faedis and Torreano, but today it has virtually disappeared. In an effort to keep the variety alive, a group of enthusiastic growers in Faedis have formed the Associazione Volontaria fra viticoltori del Refosco di Faedis to promote this local variety. In general, it tends to be slightly more acidic and tannic than REFOSCO DAL PEDUNCOLO ROSSO. Varietal wines may be produced within the Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC.
Listed as Refosco Nostrano, the variety notched up a total of 263 ha (650 acres) in the 2000 Italian agricultural census. Forchir and Vigna delle Beccacce produce a varietal wine, the former labelling it Refoscone.
REFOSCO NOSTRANO
See REFOSCO DI FAEDIS.
REGENT
Highly successful and increasingly popular German hybrid.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Geilweilerhof 67-198-3
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A complex hybrid obtained in 1967 by Gerhardt Alleweldt at the Geilweilerhof research centre in the Pfalz, Germany, by crossing Diana × CHAMBOURCIN, in which Diana is a SILVANER × MÜLLER-THURGAU cross that should not be confused with the CATAWBA seedling that is also known as Diana in the US.
It was named after Le Régent, the famous diamond (140.5 carats) found by a slave in the Golkonda mine in India. Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, used the gem to decorate the crown of Louis XV for his coronation in 1722, Napoleon later embellished his sword with it and since 1887 it has sparkled in the French Royal Treasury at the Louvre.
Regent was used to breed CALANDRO and REBERGER and was authorized for quality wine production in Germany in 1996 despite its non-vinifera genes.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Early ripening and winter-hardy. Very good resistance to downy and powdery mildews and quite resistant to botrytis bunch rot.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Of all the recently bred, disease-resistant German varieties, Regent is the most widely planted and rapidly expanding in the German-speaking wine world. There are 2,161 ha (5,340 acres) in Germany, with most vines in Rheinhessen, the Pfalz and Baden. Fippinger-Wick in the Pfalz and Jürgen Ellwanger in Württemberg make good examples.
Regent has already been widely adopted outside Germany: 40 ha (99 acres) in north-east Switzerland, particularly in the cantons of Zürich and Schaffhausen; 15 ha (37 acres) in England, where it shows real promise though is currently less widely planted than RONDO; and modest plantings in Sweden and Belgium.
Its success is not due solely to its disease resistance but also to the quality of the wines it produces. The grapes ripen to higher sugar levels than Spätburgunder (PINOT NOIR) and the wines are full-bodied and approachable, suitable both for early drinking and for barrel ageing thanks to present but velvety tannins. Fruit flavours are in the cherry to redcurrant spectrum.
REGNER
Declining, light-skinned German cross with little to recommend it.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Alzey 10378
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A crossing of the white table grape LUGLIENGA (aka Seidentraube) with GAMAY NOIR (in fact the Gamay Précoce mutation), created in 1929 by Georg Scheu at Alzey. It was named in honour of Anne-Marie Regner (1911–99), who collaborated with Scheu.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Buds early, ripens early and yields consistently.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Wines are low in acidity with a slight Muscat note, reminiscent of MÜLLER-THURGAU. The variety can attain high sugar levels but at the expense of acidity and it is not surprising that it is in decline, with a current total in Germany of only 46 ha (114 acres), down from 124 ha (306 acres) in 2001. It has produced slightly better results in England, where there are just over 5 ha (12 acres), though it is probably better as a blending component than as a varietal wine.
REICHENSTEINER
Cool-climate, productive, relatively soft German cross of pan-European descent.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Geisenheim 18-92
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A MÜLLER-THURGAU × (MADELEINE ANGEVINE × Weisser Calabreser) cross bred by Heinrich Birk at the Geisenheim research centre in the Rheingau, Germany, in 1939 and authorized in 1978. (Weisser Calabreser is not a colour mutation of NERO D’AVOLA, which is often called Calabrese.) It was named after Reichenstein castle at Trechtingshausen, perched dramatically above the Rhein in Rheinland-Pfalz. Reichensteiner was used to breed the Swiss varieties GAMARET, GARANOIR and MARA.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Very high yielding, early to mid ripening. Good resistance to downy mildew and botrytis bunch rot thanks to its loose bunches. Sugar levels are generally high but acidity moderate except in very cool climates, where it is at risk from winter frost.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Germany had 106 ha (262 acres) in 2008 with more than half in Rheinhessen but also 26 ha (64 acres) in the Mosel region. Producers include Paternushof in Rheinhessen and Rainer Heil in the Mosel.
In England it was the third most planted white wine variety after CHARDONNAY and BACCHUS with total plantings of 95 ha (235 acres) by 2009. Wines are pretty neutral, sometimes lightly floral, and best as part of a blend. In the UK, it is often blended with SEYVAL BLANC, MADELEINE × ANGEVINE 7672, HUXELREBE, etc.; Chapel Down and Camel Valley include it in their blended sparkling wines. There are also limited plantings in New Zealand (72 ha/178 acres) and tiny amounts in British Columbia, Japan and Switzerland.
RÉSELLE
Very minor disease-resistant Swiss hybrid.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: VB 86-3
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Réselle is a BACCHUS × SEYVAL BLANC hybrid obtained by Valentin Blattner in Soyhières in the Swiss Jura. Réselle and BIRSTALER MUSKAT are therefore siblings. The variety was named after the hamlet of La Réselle close to Soyhières.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Good resistance to both downy and powdery mildews.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
The variety’s breeder Valentin Blattner is almost the only producer of this variety (less than a hectare/2.5 acres planted in Switzerland in 2009), giving light wines with aromas of grapefruit, lemon and blackcurrant.
RETAGLIADO BIANCO
Rare Sardinian with almost more synonyms than vines.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Arba Luxi, Arretallau, Arrotelas, Bianca Lucida, Co ‘e Erbei, Coa de Brebèi, Erbaluxi, Mara Bianca, Rechiliau, Redaglàdu, Retagladu, Retellau, Ritelau
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR RETAGLIADO BIANCO: BRUSTIANO BIANCO *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Retagliado Bianco was first cited in 1877 on Sardegna, where it has numerous synonyms depending on where it’s grown.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Vigorous, ripens early October.
WHERE IT’S GROWN
Today Retagliado Bianco is cultivated on a very small scale in the provinces of Sassari and Gallura, especially in old vineyards on the island of Sardegna. There were 28 ha (69 acres) in Italy in 2000. It is authorized as a varietal wine within the IGT Colli del Limbara but is usually blended with VERMENTINO and other local varieties.
RÈZE
Rare, very old, well-connected Swiss variety worthy of greater attention.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Blanc de Maurienne * (Savoie in France), Resi (Haut-Valais), Rèze Jaune (Valais), Rèze Verte (Valais)
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Rèze is one of the oldest varieties in the Alps. Its earliest mention appeared in the Valais, southern Switzerland, on a Latin parchment dated 1313 known as the ‘Registre d’Anniviers’ (Ammann-Doubliez 2007; Vouillamoz 2009a): ‘tribus generibus racemorum bene et sufficienter maturorum, scilicet de neyrun, de humagny et de regy’ (‘three kinds of grapes, good and ripe enough, that is to say of neyrun, of humagny and of regy’). The name Regy undoubtedly corresponds to Rèze, because several subsequent documents mentioned it under the name Regis, suggesting that it possibly derived from the family name Regis that was widespread in the region in the Middle Ages (Vouillamoz and Moriondo 2011).
Until recently, Rèze was known only in the Valais, Switzerland, but José Vouillamoz and the brothers Jean-Pierre, Philippe and Michel Grisard from Fréterive in France’s Savoie discovered old Rèze vines in the Vallée de la Maurienne that were identified by DNA profiling in 2009. Local people simply called it Blanc de Maurienne, suggesting that Rèze had long been grown in the Maurienne. A similar finding was made by Gaël Delorme in the French Jura (Thierry Lacombe, personal communication), which indicates that the distribution of Rèze was once much wider than it is now. This has been confirmed by DNA parentage analyses showing that Rèze has parent–offspring relationships with at least five geographically distant varieties (Vouillamoz, Schneider and Grando 2007; Vouillamoz 2009b): in Switzerland, the now virtually extinct Diolle and Grosse Arvine in the Valais; in Italy, CASCAROLO BIANCO in Piemonte as well as GROPPELLO DI REVÒ and NOSIOLA in Trentino. In addition, Rèze might also be closely related to FREISA from Italy’s Piemonte (Vouillamoz, Schneider and Grando 2007).
A rare red-berried colour mutation was recently found in the Valais (Vouillamoz, Frei and Arnold 2008).
OTHER HYPOTHESES
According to most linguists, the name Rèze derives from the Latin Raetica, the most widespread white grape variety in northern Italy in Roman times (Aebischer 1937; André 1953), and Rèze is often considered to be identical to Raetica. Since it is not botanically possible to make a firm connection between Latin grape names and modern varieties, it is more likely that Rèze is a distant relative of Raetica, just like NOSIOLA and GROPPELLO DI REVÒ (Vouillamoz and Moriondo 2011).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Moderate to low vigour, average but sometimes irregular yields. Early to mid budding, mid ripening. Susceptible to botrytis bunch rot.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Before the widespread replacement of Rèze by CHASSELAS and SILVANER in the replantings that followed the phylloxera crisis at the end of the nineteenth century, it was one of the most widespread varieties in the Valais, Switzerland, where it was traditionally used to make Vin du Glacier, a dry unfortified wine made in a solera system in which the casks are refilled only once a year, producing a maderized style.
Today there are little more than 2 ha (5 acres) of Rèze grown in the Valais, where Josef-Marie Chanton crafts varietal wines with typical aromas of gooseberries, green apple, crisp acidity and a light structure. Other notable producers include Cave Les Sentes and Vin du Mur.
RIBOLLA GIALLA
Ancient white from the Italy–Slovenia border.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Rabola, Rabiola, Rebolla, Rebula * (Goriška Brda in Slovenia), Ribolla di Rosazzo, Ribuèle (Friuli)
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR RIBOLLA GIALLA: GARGANEGA *, Jarbola Bijela * (Matulji in Croatia; see HRVATICA), PIGNOLETTO * (under the name Rébola or Ribolla Riminese in Rimini), PROSECCO LUNGO (under the name Ribolla Spizade), Ribolla Verde, ROBOLA *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Ribolla Gialla is a very old variety from Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The earliest mention of its wine dates from 1296 under the name Rabola, an old and attested synonym for Ribolla: on 20 March, Pope Boniface VIII settled a dispute between the Bishop of Trieste and the monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venezia about the selling of a wine called Rabola (Di Manzano 1860). Three years later (3 February 1299), the same wine appears in the documents of the notary Ermanno di Gemona among the gifts made by the city of Udine to Girardo da Camino: one pig, one cow, two conzi of Rabiola (a conz was an old measure equal to 85 litres/22.5 US gallons) and some bread (Di Manzano 1860). Numerous subsequent references demonstrate that Ribolla Gialla was already widespread in Friuli and Istra (Istria) in the fourteenth century.
Ribolla Gialla is distinct from the almost extinct Ribolla Verde and is not a colour mutation of Ribolla Nera (ie SCHIOPPETTINO). The variety named Rébola or Ribolla Riminese in the province of Rimini is identical to PIGNOLETTO (Filippetti et al. 1999), and Ribolla Spizade is a synonym for PROSECCO LUNGO. A possible parent–offspring relationship with GOUAIS BLANC, based on DNA evidence, is currently under investigation (Serena Imazio and José Vouillamoz, unpublished data).
A recent DNA survey of Rebula and similar varieties in Slovenia confirmed that it is the same variety as Ribolla Gialla but also that it shows a significant level of genetic diversity in Goriška Brda (Slovenia), Collio (Italy) and Istra (Croatia), with several distinct clones interplanted with other distinct and undetermined varieties (possibly seedlings?) in the vineyard (Rusjan et al. 2010).
OTHER HYPOTHESES
Like PROSECCO and REFOSCO, Ribolla Gialla has often been erroneously identified with the Pucinum mentioned by Pliny the Elder as a variety grown on rocks in Istra.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid ripening. Susceptible to millerandage and rot. Low fertility.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Ribolla Gialla is cultivated in Friuli, north-east Italy, hard by the border with Slovenia – a border that has seen so many changes that it is hardly surprising that the variety is also grown, as Rebula, in Slovenia. In Italy in 2000 the agricultural census recorded 284 ha (701 acres), planted mainly on the hills between Tarcento and Istra and around Gorizia. Varietal wines are produced in the Colli Orientali del Friuli and Collio DOCs, with the villages of Cialla, Rosazzo, Capriva, Cividale, Cormons, Gradisca d’Isonzo, Manzano and Oslavia producing particularly fine examples – the first two officially recognized as subzones within the Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC. Oslavia is regarded as the home of the variety, which was traditionally fermented on the skins. Today a few days’ skin contact is by no means unusual.
Traditionally, varietal wines have been light-bodied and high in acidity, sometimes slightly floral. More recently, ambitious and innovative producers have been making more concentrated and characterful versions with a deep yellow colour and rich yellow-fruit, sometimes nutty and mineral, flavours, although experiments with barrel fermentation and/or ageing have not been universally successful. Recommended producers include Josko Gravner, whose distinctive Anfora is made in clay amphorae, Miani, Primosic, Matjaz Tercic and Le Vigne di Zamò.
In Slovenia the majority of Rebula vines are planted in Goriška Brda north of the Italian city of Gorizia (446 ha/1,102 acres), where it is the most widely planted variety of either colour, and in Vipavska Dolina east of Gorizia (295 ha/729 acres), where it is the most widely planted white. There are also very limited plantings in Kras (Carso in Italian) and Slovenska Istra (Slovenian Istria). Recommended producers include Batič, Kabaj, Edi Simčič, Marjan Simčič and Ščurek.
A little is also planted in the Napa Valley, California.
RIBOLLA NERA
See SCHIOPPETTINO.
RIESEL
Minor Swiss hybrid bred mainly for its disease resistance that has found a home in the Netherlands.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: VB 11-11-89-12
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Riesel is a hybrid obtained by Valentin Blattner in Soyhières in the Swiss Jura by crossing CABERNET SAUVIGNON with an undisclosed disease-resistant partner (Resistenzpartner in German).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Vigorous, early budding, mid ripening. Relatively good resistance to frost, downy and powdery mildews but the compact bunches are prone to botrytis bunch rot.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
In the Netherlands, Colonjes in Groesbeek produce a medium-dry, lemony varietal wine and both Colonjes and Wijnboerderij De Gravin in Roswinkel make a blend of Riesel and SOLARIS. It is not unlike RIESLING, with floral and white-fruit aromas, but with less acidity and complexity.
RIESLANER
Rare, undervalued but demanding Riesling-like German cross making stunning botrytis-influenced sweet wines.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Mainriesling, Würzburg N 1-11-17
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A SILVANER × RIESLING cross bred by August Ziegler in 1921 in Würzburg. This parentage has been confirmed by DNA profiling (Grando and Frisinghelli 1998). ORANIENSTEINER, OSTEINER and Rieslaner are siblings. Rieslaner was used to breed ALBALONGA.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Like RIESLING, it ripens late while retaining high acidity. It has a tendency to shrivel so it is better on unexposed sites, and in general it requires a good site to produce high quality. Yields are generally low and it has a tendency to millerandage if the weather is not perfect at flowering. If all that weren’t enough, the stems are not very stable so there can be additional crop losses if grapes are left to ripen fully.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Germany has 87 ha (215 acres), mostly in Franken and the Pfalz, but Dreissigacker and Keller both make outstanding Rieslaner TBA in Rheinhessen, where just a few hectares remain. In these wines, as in Fürst Löwenstein’s and Rudolf Fürst’s Auslesen from Franken, the botrytis influence concentrates the ripe grapefruit, apricot and bitter orange flavours of the variety, balanced by fine acidity. Müller Catoir in the Pfalz have shown the potential too. It is a shame that Rieslaner is becoming increasingly rare because if it reaches full ripeness, it can produce remarkable, full-bodied yet fresh, ageworthy wines. Dry versions can taste alcoholic and unbalanced if the grapes are picked fully ripe and overly acidic if not.
RIESLING
One of the world’s greatest white wine grapes, capable of making particularly geographically expressive and long-lived wines at all sweetness levels.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Beyaz Riesling (Turkey), Johannisberg (Valais in Switzerland until the 1920s before this name was given to Silvaner; California), Kleinriesling, Klingelberger (Ortenau in Baden), Lipka (Czech Republic), Petit Rhin (Valais), Raisin du Rhin (Alsace in France), Rajinski Riesling (former Yugoslavia), Rajnai Rizling (Hungary), Renski Riesling (Slovenia), Renski Rizling (Slovenia), Rheinriesling (Austria), Rhine Riesling, Riesling Edler (Germany), Riesling Gelb (Germany), Riesling Renano (Italy), Riesling Rhénan (Alsace), Riesling Weisser, Rislinoc (Republic of Moldova), Risling (Bulgaria), Rizling Rajnski (Croatia), Ryzlink Rýnský (Czech Republic, Slovakia), Starovetski (Czech Republic, Slovakia), Weisser Riesling, White Riesling (US)
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR RIESLING: CROUCHEN * (South Africa), GRAŠEVINA * (Italy, under the name Riesling Italico), MENU PINEAU * (Loire), PEDRO XIMÉNEZ *, RÄUSCHLING * (Germany), SAUVIGNONASSE * (Chile and Argentina)
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Riesling is one of the most ancient German grape varieties, as suggested by its impressive number of synonyms. According to Bertsch in Levadoux (1956), the name Riesling could derive from reissen (old German rîzan), originally meaning ‘to split’, then ‘to make an incision’, ‘to carve’ or ‘to engrave’ and later ‘to tear’ or ‘to write’. No explanation is provided for this rather strange etymology, but perhaps the earliest meaning, ‘to split’, could be a reference to the way the berries split between the fingers, similar to the use of the synonym Fendant for CHASSELAS. Alternatively, the name might possibly be related to the grape’s tendency to millerandage (in German verrieseln, though it is stretching it a bit to say millerandage is like ‘making an incision’ in the flowers so that they do not form berries) or to the German word Rissling (also derived from reissen), meaning ‘cutting’.
Riesling probably originated in the Rheingau, on the northern bank of the Rhein in Germany, where its earliest mention is said to be in a document dated 3 March (February according to some accounts) 1435. Klaus Kleinfisch, cellarmaster at Schloss Katzenelnbogen in Rüsselsheim near Frankfurt-am-Main in the state of Hessen, reports on the expenditures and revenues of Graf Johann IV von Katzenelnbogen (Staab 1991): ‘item XXII ß umb setzreben riesslingen in die wingarten’ (‘22 Solidi [gold coins] for riesslingen vine cuttings for the vineyard’). Some sources have seczreben but the writing is hard to decipher and setzreben (‘vine cuttings’) makes more sense.
Numerous references to Riesling are to be found in other documents in Germany but the similarity with ancient mentions of RÄUSCHLING (eg ruesseling in Kintzheim, Alsace, in 1348 and in Trier in 1464) can be a source of confusion. The first mention of the modern Riesling spelling appeared in the Latin edition of Hieronymus Bock’s (1552) Kreutterbuch: ‘Ad Mosellam, Rhenum et in agro Wormatiensi vites procreantur Riesling appellate’ (‘Riesling grows in the Mosel/Rhein and in Worms’), though some sources say it appeared in the 1546 edition of Bock’s book.
Regner et al. (1998) established by DNA profiling that Riesling has a parent–offspring relationship with GOUAIS BLANC, one of the most ancient and prolific wine grapes of Western Europe. Since Gouais Blanc also has parent–offspring relationships with at least eighty other grape varieties (see the pedigree diagram in the PINOT entry), including CHARDONNAY, GAMAY NOIR, ELBLING and FURMINT, they all turn out to be half-siblings, grandparents or grandchildren of Riesling.
Riesling has no genetic relationship with Riesling Italico or Welschriesling (both synonyms of GRAŠEVINA) and many other grape varieties have been erroneously named after Riesling: in Australia, Clare Riesling (= CROUCHEN); in South Africa, Cape Riesling (= CROUCHEN); in California, Gray Riesling (= TROUSSEAU) and so on.
Not least because Germans were prolific vine breeders, Riesling has been used in numerous crosses, many of which are cultivated today: AURELIUS, DALKAUER (possibly), EHRENFELSER, GEISENHEIM 318-57, GOLDRIESLING, HÖLDER, MANZONI BIANCO, KERNER, MISKET VARNENSKI, MÜLLER-THURGAU, NORIA, ORANIENSTEINER, OSTEINER, RIESLANER, RIESUS, ROTBERGER, SCHEUREBE and VERITAS.
The red-berried mutation Roter Riesling is discussed at the end of this entry.
OTHER HYPOTHESES
As in the case of many other varieties, there has been speculation that Riesling is identical to the Vitis aminea mentioned by various Roman authors. Some sources suggest the variety is named after the Ritzling, a river in the Wachau region of Austria, but this is probably a coincidence because Riesling was not cultivated there in the Middle Ages. The name Riesling was also said to derive from Russling (Rus meaning ‘dark wood’) but this etymology is true only for RÄUSCHLING.
On the basis of DNA data, Regner et al. (1998) speculated that Riesling, like ELBLING, could be a cross of GOUAIS BLANC with a close relative of SAVAGNIN (or Traminer), this ancestor being long dead and possibly related to wild grapevines (Vitis vinifera subsp. silvestris) in the Rheingau. However, this hypothetical parent has never been found and no genetic link between Riesling and wild grapevines could subsequently be established.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Very cold-hardy, thanks to the hardness of its wood, though it needs to be planted in the best sites to ripen fully and yield economically. In the right sites, it can retain high quality even at yields of around 70 hl/ha. It buds late and therefore tends to avoid spring frosts. Mid to late ripening, depending on the style of wine being produced. Resistant to downy mildew and only slightly susceptible to powdery mildew and botrytis bunch rot.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
At long last there seems to be some real international enthusiasm for Riesling, not least in the US, where the two biggest wine companies have introduced branded varietals, imported from Germany. This is not a variety that shows much of its mettle in inexpensive versions but a hand-crafted Riesling is generally relatively low in alcohol but high in both acidity and, often, extract. There is rarely any shortage of flavour and aroma in a Riesling – in fact the bouquet in mature examples can be so strong as to deter some wine drinkers. Because Riesling is so good at expressing the terroir where it is grown, it is difficult to generalize about its aromas and general character. They can be floral, fruity, mineral and/or spicy. One generalization can be made: Riesling makes some of the longest-lived wines in the world, wines that last about as long as a red bordeaux of equivalent quality.
The quintessentially Germanic grape Riesling is not officially allowed in France, except in Alsace, which was of course German once. This region between the Vosges Mountains and the Rhine had 3,382 ha (8,357 acres) of Riesling planted in 2009, a considerable increase on the 787 ha (1,945 acres) planted in 1958, and a total that makes it the most planted variety in the region now that it has so widely displaced Sylvaner (SILVANER). But there are still only three authorized Riesling clones in Alsace – 49, 1089 and 1091 – compared with more than sixty in Germany. Alsace Riesling has traditionally been chaptalized and vinified dry so has typically been fuller-bodied than German Riesling. Only Vendange Tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles Rieslings are sweet. Riesling is a fine medium here for communicating the variation between various limestone, granite and marl sites, and their altitudes and expositions. Recommended producers include Marcel Deiss, Hugel, Josmeyer, Kreydenweiss, Meyer-Fonné, René Muré, André Ostertag, Rolly-Gassmann, Domaines Schlumberger, Trimbach, Weinbach and Zind-Humbrecht.
Riesling Italico is much more important in Italy than Riesling and the national total was only 624 ha (1,542 acres) in 2000, mostly in the cooler reaches of the Alto Adige and in Friuli. Kuenhof, Cantina San Michele Appiano, Schwanburg and Tiefenbrunner produce some of the best examples, often a little grassy, in the Alto Adige; Jermann, Puiatti and Villa Russiz in Friuli. Aldo Vajra makes a distinctive 100% Riesling in Piemonte: Pietracine sold as Langhe Bianco.
Spain grew only 97 ha (240 acres) of Riesling in 2009, principally in Catalunya in the north east for wines such as Torres’ Waltraud from Penedès, as well as in Castilla-La Mancha.
Riesling is much more important in little Luxembourg, just over the border from the upper Moseltal (Mosel Valley) in Germany after all. The country’s 159 ha (393 acres) represent more than 12% of the total vineyard area. Most sophisticated exponents are Mathis Bastian, Charles Decker, Gales, Alice Hartmann and Ch Pauqué. Klaus Peter Keller of Rheinhessen in Germany is involved with a small experimental planting of Riesling in southern Norway.
Germany is epicentre of Riesling lore, and the country with by far the most Riesling in the ground: 22,434 ha (55,436 acres), making it the country’s most planted grape variety. (There was an ignoble period in the history of German wine in the late twentieth century when plantings of the much-easier-to-ripen MÜLLER-THURGAU overtook those of the noble Riesling.) Riesling is grown in every German wine region with almost equal totals in the Pfalz (5,458 ha/13,487 acres) and Mosel-Saar-Ruwer (5,390 ha/13,319 acres) as well as 3,769 ha (9,313 acres) in Rheinhessen, 2,464 ha (6,089 acres) in the Rheingau and 2,083 ha (5,147 acres) in Württemberg. It arguably reaches its apogee, or certainly makes its most distinctive wines, in Germany’s coolest wine region, the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, where the relatively late-ripening Riesling can be ripened only on the most propitiously sited and exposed slopes, angled so as to catch maximum sunshine, some of it reradiated by slaty soils, some reflected from the surface of the river. Wines produced here are typically only about 8% alcohol with extremely high acidity (which needs time in bottle to soften) yet chock full of extract and character and, usually, with perceptible if delicate fruity sweetness.
There was a time when virtually all German wine had some sweetness, sometimes to disguise shortcomings in the wine itself, but climate change and revived concentration on quality rather than quantity have meant that Germany’s Riesling, especially in southern wine regions, can now be made into perfectly respectable dry, or trocken, wines, with alcohol levels closer to 13% and no help from sugar added to the fermentation vat. Dry wines, particularly popular in Germany itself, have a quite different structure from fruitier ones, but in general Rheingau Rieslings are relatively firm with a lightly honeyed character. Those from the Nahe are nervier, with a certain grapefruit quality in some instances. Rieslings from the extensive Rheinhessen region vary enormously from big, luscious ferments ripened overlooking the Rhein around Nierstein to the tense, vibrant, sometimes nutty vineyard expressions now being produced by a nucleus of younger, ambitious producers in the south of the region. Pfalz Rieslings tend to be almost fat, certainly honeyed and quite full-bodied, while those of Württemberg are light and refreshing, mainly for local quaffing. Franken is SILVANER country and Baden specializes in the various PINOTs but both can produce their own very respectable renditions of this, the quintessential German grape.
Although it is so close to Germany, Switzerland hardly grows Riesling at all – just 12 ha (30 acres), nearly half of which is in the Valais. Amphitryon by Domaine du Mont d’Or in Sion was the first Valais Riesling and is still today among the best examples.
Austria, on the other hand, grows 1,874 ha (4,631 acres) – although Riesling routinely plays second fiddle to Austria’s own GRÜNER VELTLINER. The Weinviertel has the most hectares planted to Riesling, 552 ha (1,364 acres), but this represents less than 4% of the region’s vineyards (compared with almost 50% given over to Grüner Veltliner), whereas the Wachau’s 198 ha (489 acres) represent 14% of the region’s vines, Kamptal’s 298 ha (736 acres) is 7.5% and Kremstal’s 214 ha (529 acres) is nearly 9.5%. Burgenland’s Riesling is found mainly in Neusiedlersee and is made into impressively concentrated sweet wines. Austrian Riesling is rather more full-bodied than most German Riesling, and often somewhat spicier and less austere than the Rieslings of Alsace. Most of the top Riesling exponents are based on south-facing slopes on the north bank of the Donau (Danube), the likes of Bründlmayer, Hirtzberger, Knoll, Loimer, Nigl, Nikolaihof, F X Pichler, Prager, Schloss Gobelsburg, Stadt Krems, Undhof Salomon and Domäne Wachau, but in general the quality level is consistently high.
Hungary grows 1,283 ha (3,170 acres) of Riesling, mainly in the southern central regions of Kunság, Csongrád and Tolna, but there are some fine specimens from near Lake Balaton. The top producers are Bussay (Zala), Ottó Légli (Balatonboglár), József Szentesi (Pázmánd) and Villa Tolnay (Badacsony).
There are 1,270 ha (3,138 acres) of Ryzlink Rýnský in the Czech Republic with plantings concentrated in the southern wine regions of Morava in the south east of the country, although Velké Žernoseky is also known for its Riesling. In Slovakia, Pezinok and especially Modra within the Malokarpatská region on the border with Austria have a good reputation for Riesling. There was a total of 998 ha (2,466 acres) of Riesling in 2009. Egon Müller of the Saar makes the particularly precise Kastiel Belá Riesling near Stúrovo a little further south and east on the border with Hungary.
Renski Riesling ranks as the tenth most planted variety in Slovenia. It is grown mainly in Štajerska Slovenija (Slovenian Styria; 591 ha/1,460 acres) and Prekmurje (52 ha/128 acres) in the north east. Dveri-Pax make a creditable example.
Riesling was the sixth most planted variety in Croatia in 2009, under the name Rizling Rajnski, with just over 3% of the vineyard area, ie 1,072 ha (2,649 acres).
The Republic of Moldova had 1,343 ha (3,319 acres) of the variety, also known as Rislinoc, in 2009 while Bulgaria’s 2009 total of Risling was 1,170 ha (2,891 acres). Official statistics showed 882 ha (2,179 acres) of Riesling planted in 2009 in Krasnodar Krai, Russia’s biggest winemaking region, but it is not clear which Riesling this is. Fanagoria do have 60 ha (148 acres) of Rhine Riesling and Ukraine had 2,702 ha (6,677 acres) of ‘Rhine Riesling’ in 2009. Real Riesling is definitely grown in Israel to a very limited extent.
The same problem does not apply to California, where the variety once known as Johannisberg or White Riesling is clearly identified with the Riesling under discussion here. There were 3,831 acres (1,550 ha) of it in California vineyards in 2010, although 300 acres (121 ha) of that were not yet bearing – a sign of American commercial interest in the variety. Much California Riesling can be rather soft and dilute but Chateau Montelena, Smith Madrone and Stony Hill in Napa Valley; Dashe Cellars, Esterlina and Navarro in Mendocino County; and Ventana Vineyards in Monterey County have all produced delicious and relatively long-lived exceptions to this rule.
Cooler, cloudier Oregon has long had a solid tradition of producing respectable Riesling, lacking only an enthusiastic market for it. The state total of 777 acres (314 ha) provides fruit for the most interested and competent producers such as A to Z, Amity, Argyle, Brooks, Chehalem and Elk Cove.
But on the west coast it is Washington State that is busy styling itself as a Riesling specialist. Thanks to a long-standing co-operation (evinced by the hugely successful Eroica Riesling) between the dominant wine company there, Château Ste Michelle, and Erni Loosen of the Mosel, interest in the variety has grown enormously and has been reflected in a similar increase in plantings of Riesling in the state, from 1,900 acres (769 ha) in 1999 to 6,320 acres (2,558 ha) by 2011. CHARDONNAY is still more widely grown in Washington but the state joins the Rheingau and Australia as organizer of a triennial international Riesling event and there are dozens of producers of fine, bright-fruited, extremely crisp Riesling at all sweetness levels.
Château Grand Traverse of Michigan is well known for its Riesling.
On the east coast, the Finger Lakes region of New York State, where 683 acres (276 ha) of Riesling were grown in 2008, has a long tradition of producing seriously fine Riesling, at all sweetness levels, even if it has been somewhat ignored during the era of CHARDONNAY mania. Anthony Road, Glenora, Heron Hill and Hermann J Wiemer have all produced truly world-class Rieslings here. Not surprisingly, Riesling can also shine across the border in Ontario, Canada, where it is a highly significant variety and the likes of Norman Hardie and Cave Spring (related by marriage to St Urbans-Hof of the Mosel) have made extremely promising bone-dry Rieslings. Riesling icewines can also shine. The finest (dry) Rieslings of British Columbia (367 acres/149 ha) have so far come from Tantalus.
Riesling is much more at home in the cool north east of North America than in South America. Argentina had only 112 ha (277 acres) planted in 2008, mainly around Mendoza. A handful of determined young winemakers are experimenting with Riesling in Chile so that there were 33 ha (82 acres) in Bío Bío (eg Cono Sur) in the cool far south in 2008 and Cousiño Macul have some planted near Santiago. In Uruguay there were just 17 ha (42 acres) in 2009.
Historically Riesling was hugely important to Australia. Silesian immigrants brought it to the Barossa Valley in South Australia in the early nineteenth century and it quickly showed an aptitude for the rather cooler Clare and Eden Valleys nearby. Before the advent of CHARDONNAY, it was the country’s favourite white wine grape and it is still the fifth most planted with a national total of 4,401 ha (10,875 acres) in 2008. This may be dwarfed by Chardonnay’s 31,564 ha (77,996 acres) but Australia can claim to have one of the world’s most distinctive styles of Riesling – produced in a very much drier, warmer climate than that of any German wine region. Pioneered by the likes of Jeffrey Grosset of Clare Valley (with 862 ha/2,130 acres, home to the greatest concentration of Australian Rieslings), current offerings are some of the driest, steeliest and ambitiously tightly furled in the world, although there are signs of very slight mellowing in this respect. Australia has long made some top-quality sweet Rieslings, too. The most significant and successful regions for Riesling today are the Clare, Eden and Barossa Valleys and Great Southern, though there are also significant plantings in the Adelaide Hills and Padthaway – and Tasmania shows some potential. Crawford River, Frankland Estate, Grosset, Henschke, Leeuwin, Petaluma, Piper’s Brook, Plantagenet, Tamar Ridge and Yalumba are just some of the most accomplished Riesling producers.
New Zealand is just getting to grips with varieties it calls ‘aromatics’, of which Riesling is undoubtedly one. The country grows a total of 917 ha (2,666 acres) of Riesling, up from 493 ha (1,218 acres) in 2001 and projected to rise further. Top producers include Dry River, Forrest Estate, Framingham (including some very fine sweet versions), Palliser, Pegasus Bay, Richardson and Seresin.
The cause of Riesling has not been helped in South Africa by the persistence of the term Cape Riesling, and occasionally just Riesling, for the lowly CROUCHEN. Only recently was the term Riesling reserved for the real thing and the requirement that it be called Weisser Riesling abandoned. Total plantings of ‘real’ Riesling were just 215 ha (531 acres) in 2008 and they are widely scattered, with the biggest areas in Stellenbosch and Robertson. Best wines tend to come from the coolest climes such as Constantia (Buitenverwachting and Klein Constantia), Elgin (Paul Cluver) and Swartberg at 1,000 m altitude in the far east of the Cape winelands (Howard Booysen).
Riesling is also grown in China (378 ha/934 acres in 2009), in the provinces of Shanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang, and there were 7.6 ha (19 acres) in 2009 in Japan.
ROTER RIESLING
Roter Riesling, also known as Riesling Rot, is a rare colour mutation of Riesling with pinkish rather than red berries (Sefc, Regner et al. 1998). Since Roter Riesling often produces a mixture of white and pinkish berries, and since white Riesling never does, it has been suggested that Roter Riesling is in fact the original form, the Urform, of Riesling. However, recent genetic research has shown that mutations of the colour gene in grapes (called VvmybA1) are often the result of an insertion of retrotransposons, which are small pieces of DNA able to move around the genome by themselves, thus creating variability (This et al. 2007). In the case of Roter Riesling, genetic investigation has established that the mix of berry colours in the same bunch is most likely due to complex mutations in the bud (Stenkamp 2009). As a consequence, Roter Riesling cannot be considered a forerunner of Riesling, in the same way that Elbling Rot, Chasselas Rouge, Sauvignon Rouge, etc. cannot be considered forerunners of their white counterparts.
There are tiny parcels in Germany and Austria. Ulrich Allendorf in Oestrich-Winkel in the Rheingau is helping to keep Roter Riesling alive thanks to his 2006 plantings, undertaken after he had tasted a wine made at the Geisenheim research centre. Corvers Cauter in the Rheingau and Weingut Holzmann in the Weinviertel in Austria also produce Roter Riesling. The wines are similar to Riesling in their crisp acidity and aromas but slightly more powerful, rounded and full-bodied. The vine has the additional advantage of being less susceptible to botrytis bunch rot than white-berried Riesling.
RIESLING ITALICO
See GRAŠEVINA.
RIESUS
Recent and relatively robust Ukrainian hybrid with Riesling-like aromas.
PRINCIPAL SYONYMS: Risus, Risys, Rysus
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Riesus is a hybrid obtained by P Golodriga, M Kostik and V Yurchenko at the Ampelos private breeding company in Yalta, southern Ukraine, by crossing RIESLING with Roucaneuf, the latter being a Seibel 6468 × Subéreux hybrid (for the complete pedigrees, see HELIOS for Seibel 6468 and PRIOR for Subéreux). Riesus is a contraction of Riesling and ustoichivy, meaning ‘resistant’ with respect to diseases.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Productive, mid budding, mid to late ripening. Dense but elastic berry skins. Good resistance to fungal diseases and cold-hardy to –26 °C (–14.8 °F).
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Riesus presumably grows in its homeland of Ukraine but is also planted in the Rostov and Krasnodar wine regions of Russia, where it is used mainly in blends. Its produce is also distilled. Wines typically have RIESLING-like aromas.
RIMAVA
Recently authorized, promising Slovakian cross.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: CAAB 3/12
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Rimava, named after a river in south-eastern Slovakia, 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 HRON, NITRANKA and VÁH and was officially authorized in 2011.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Productive, vigorous (best suited to poor soils), mid to late budding and ripening. Susceptible to hard winter frosts and drought but resistant to spring frosts and botrytis bunch rot. Berries are small with an intense Cabernet flavour. Good frost resistance.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Rimava is one of the best Cabernet-like varieties in Slovakia, producing deeply coloured, full-bodied wines with a distinctive Cabernet flavour and good ageing potential (Dorota Pospíšilová, personal communication). Although there were only around 3 ha (7 acres) in 2011, it shows greatest promise on sloping sites in the best Slovakian wine regions of Južnoslovenská and Malokarpatská, in the south west of the country. Igor Blaho currently includes it in a red blend.
RIMINÈSE
See ALBANA.
RIO GRANDE
Very minor Portuguese cross planted mainly on Pico in the Açores.
Berry colour: white
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A DIAGALVES × FERNÃO PIRES cross obtained in Portugal. It is a sibling of SEARA NOVA.
WHERE IT’S GROWN
Rio Grande is found mainly on the Portuguese island of Pico, where the local co-operative use it in a light, easy-drinking blend with varieties such as FERNÃO PIRES, GENEROSA (PORTUGAL) and SEARA NOVA. There are also a few scattered vines on Madeira, mainly in Santana in the north, but the official total vineyard area in Portugal in 2010 was less than 1 ha (2.5 acres).
RIÓN
Rarity recently rescued from an old vineyard near Barcelona.
Berry colour: white
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
An obscure, local variety recovered in Penedès, north-east Spain, by Albet i Noya.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid budding and ripening. Good general disease resistance.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Rión was part of an experimental project begun in 1999 by Josep Maria Albet of Albet i Noya, south west of Barcelona, Spain. An old vine was discovered in an abandoned vineyard and the variety is now being commercially cultivated on a small scale. The wine is very pale, restrained and minerally, not unlike Sancerre, with RIESLING-like freshness and a citrus aftertaste.
RIPOLO
Makes ageworthy whites on the Amalfi coast in southern Italy.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Ripala, Ripoli, Uva Ripola
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Ripolo used to be cultivated on Monti Lattari, especially in Gragnano, Lettere and Castellamare di Stabia in the province of Napoli in southern Italy. Ripolo is not mentioned in historical documents until the mid nineteenth century. It is genetically close to AGLIANICONE, FALANGHINA FLEGREA and PALLAGRELLO NERO (Costantini et al. 2005).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid ripening.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Ripolo is cultivated almost exclusively on the Amalfi coast in the province of Salerno, south of Napoli, Italy, in particular in the communes of Amalfi, Furore and Positano, where it is generally trained (often ungrafted) on pergolas. Ripolo may be included in the Costa d’Amalfi DOC, unofficially at the moment. The grapes have high sugar levels and moderate acidity. Varietal wines have scents of exotic fruits, apricot and honey, and with age they tend to develop kerosene aromas similar to those of some mature RIESLING wines. Marisa Cuomo’s Furore Bianco Fiorduva, Costa d’Amalfi DOC, is a dry, barrel-fermented blend of roughly equal proportions of late-harvested Ripolo, FENILE and GINESTRA.