Scheurebe

Scheurebe was bred in 1916 by Georg Scheu at Alzey in Rheinhessen, at a time when German institutes were crossing varieties in the hope of matching Riesling in a colder site. Scheu believed he had crossed Riesling with Silvaner. Modern DNA testing showed the second parent was not Silvaner but an unidentified wild vine, so the intended cross was never what it seemed.

The wine has a character all of its own and it is easy to recognise: pink grapefruit and blackcurrant leaf, with a sharp, almost catty note when the fruit is underripe. That underripe version is unpleasant, and it is the reason the grape has a mixed reputation. Ripe, it is exotic and generous, and it keeps a Riesling like acidity underneath.

It suits sweet wine particularly well. Scheurebe takes botrytis readily, and Auslese and Beerenauslese bottlings from Rheinhessen and the Pfalz balance the grapefruit against the sugar better than the dry versions manage. Austria grows it in Burgenland under the name Sämling 88, largely for the same purpose.