Orleans (grape variety)

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Orleans
Synonyms see section synonyms
Orleans
Art Grape vine ( Vitis vinifera subsp. Vinifera )
Berry color yellow
use
origin unknown, probably France
VIVC no. 8805
List of grape varieties

The Orleans was an almost extinct, very old white wine variety that was widespread in Germany until the 19th century . It is a vigorous, rich variety.

Ampelographic varietal characteristics

In ampelography , the habitus is described as follows:

  • The grapes of the grape variety are cylindrical and compact without shoulders. The berries are large and very thick-skinned.
  • Since the Orleans vine ripens late, it only produces attractive qualities in good vintages . An easily heated floor is essential. Their wine was considered heavy, peculiarly flavorful and long-lasting.

history

According to tradition, the variety was brought to the Rhine by Charlemagne from France. Presumably it was the Cistercians of the Eberbach monastery who first planted the Orleans in the Rheingau in the 12th century . The name, which alludes to the city of Orléans , speaks at least for its origin in France. Due to its high demands on the location , it was mainly planted in the climatically favored top locations of the Rheingau ( Johannisberg Castle , Rüdesheimer Berg and Assmannshausen ). It was certainly also located in the top locations of Forst on the Weinstrasse , and its cultivation is also documented on the Kaiserstuhl and in Ortenau . From the first half of the 19th century, however, it was replaced by Riesling . In 1890 their vineyards in the Rheingau were still 11.4 hectares.

Trivia

The last known Orleans wine of the 20th century was pressed in Rüdesheim in 1921. In 1988 the last bottles of the 1920s and 1921s from the holdings of the Eberbach Monastery State Winery were auctioned off. A tasting certified them

“[...] a lot of substance that is still unbroken even after six decades [...] strong, distinctive scent; noble race, stunner [...]
fine, clear fragrance, harmony of fruit, substance and spice in perfection. "

- without author in : Alles über Wein, No. 5/1988, p. 208

To the winemaker Armin Diel, however , the assessment of the 1921 in the catalog seemed "strongly exaggerated", while the 1920s was judged quite well:

"Strongly eaten fruit, soft acidity, tastes ancient, dry, only as a rarity of interest (1921s) [...] whiskey colors, finely ripened bouquet, fig scent, still amazing acid residues, also tastes dry ... (1920s)"

- Armin Diel in : Alles über Wein, No. 1/1989, p. 154

The 1921 Rüdesheimer Schlossberg Orleans achieved DM 5,700 at the auction, the 1920s was sold for DM 6,000.

Reintroduction

In the 1980s and 1990s, Helmut Becker from the Geisenheim Research Station succeeded in breeding the variety from overgrown sticks from abandoned terraces on the Rüdesheimer Berg. Another experimental planting from 1990 with 700 vines is in Laumersheim in the Palatinate . A Rüdesheim winemaker created a vineyard with 500 vines in 1995 and 1996 and brought the first virgin wine onto the market in 2002. In 2004, in Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland, another winery from Johannisberg created a vineyard with vines of the variety.

Five vines of the variety were found in 2008 in the course of a nationwide survey commissioned by the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food in a facility owned by the Baroness von Racknitz on Disibodenberg near Odernheim am Glan . The grape variety expert Andreas Jung found this with ampelographic comparisons. Possibly it is the oldest vines in Germany.

Synonyms

Vine of the Orleans variety

The variety is also known under the following names: Gartengst, Gelber Orleans, Gros Riesling, Hartheinisch, Hartheinsch, Harthengst, Orlänsch, Orlänzsch, Orleander, Orleaner, Orleans yellow, Orléans jaune, Orléans vert, Orleanser, Orleanstraube, Orleanzer, Wälscger Weiß, Weißer Orleans, White Orleans.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Discovery: Germany's oldest vines are on Disibodenberg.
  2. ↑ Der Deutsche Weinbau Edition: 23 | 08.

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