Dornfelder grape

Alan Rowe, author of Successful Grape Growing for Eating and Wine-making speculates on the the future of the new red German wines made from the Dornfelder grape.

As all discerning drinkers know, the Riesling grape produces the finest white wines in the world. There is no argument about that, if grown North of The Bodensee, as the Germans have it. Riesling is sublime from the steep slate slopes of the Mosel and very good indeed from Alsace.

It has suffered through being an easy-going grape that will make fair to good wine in almost any place with a long enough season. But the unkindest cuts have come from such as Riesling-Italico, Laski Riesling, Reisling and Rizling - all pseudonyms for the greatly inferior and unrelated Balkan Welscheriesling - named with the deliberate intention of trading on Rieslings excellence, and from Liebfraumilch, the quaffable, but totally unsatisfying drink of which we have all drunk our share!

Liebfraumilch, a wine from almost anywhere along the Rhine, indeed perhaps anywhere in Germany (and beyond), has all but disappeared. It was said that it had to contain some Riesling, but was mostly from indeterminate grapes and with much assistance from chemists. Its invention was a result of the post-war German government's desire for foreign capital. New German Wine Law, based on risible pseudoscience and bureaucracy, legislated that a variety's quality was a function of its potential sugar level. Not terroir, not the winemaker's skill won from centuries of tradition, not individuality, not flavour, nose, extract, or body, not from any ability to improve, but sugar content was deemed to be the essential factor and, of course, yield and the opportunity to stretch by dilution. High gravity, Morio-Muscat and scores of other blowsy German hybrids came to be judged to be of higher quality (sic) than Riesling!

There were and are, Wormser Liebfrauenkirche; single field wines of international esteem. Their status was purloined by admen, huge wholesalers and a government bent on short term fiscal gain to become the once ubiquitous Liebfraumilch. Some years ago, when Anne and I were in the USA we visited many State and private Wine shops seeking, local wines. They all had reasonable selections of French, Spanish and Italian wines but Liebfraumilch alone represented Germany!

Germany’s fine-wine growers are just beginning to recover from these indignities, and German wines of high quality are being ‘rediscovered’, when along comes Dornfelder. Unlike other 'German' reds, it has a good depth of colour, good body, good acids, and a quality for bottle improving. It has a good nose, it is both fruity and satisfying and it should become a pleasant addition to the list of good-drinking reds. It was raised in 1956 by Professor Herold of the Würtemburg Wine Institute and seems to embody most of the good qualities of other ‘German’ reds, without many disadvantages.

It is my opinion that its major disadvantage lies in its capability for massive crops and thus oceans of inferior 'cheap’ Redfrauplonks,  to be beloved of supermarkets and a curse on wine masters. The fault lies, I am told, largely with 'der Kartofelnboeren' (Potato farmers) as the flatland and highly mechanised grape growers are labelled in the Mosel. They gave us Liebfraumilch and are now already overproducing Dornfelder. Germany is already awash with it and it is greatly prized by the bulk sellers.

It has always been a surprise to me that ‘cheap’ is regarded by so many, the world over, as a desirable 'quality'. 'Cheap', my granddad believed ‘Is general nasty’ and ‘Only nothing comes for nothing' - ‘Nichts ist nichts’! Liebfraumilch crept up on us. Of Redfrauplonk we are forewarned!

I have yet to see Dornfelder on our supermarket shelves. We may be sheltered from it for some time by the present parity of the pound with the euro, but come it will. When it comes, will I buy it? Well, if it is ‘This week's Half price offer’- then most certainly not! Since, unless supermarkets are altruistic, it would seem that they have been overcharging previously and not if it appears to be 'Factory' wine, anonymous plonk of dubious worth. But I will look for such information as a named grower, a named source - Gutsabfullung (Bottled by the grower), Ertzeugerabfullung (Bottled by the producer), Weindomaine or Winzermeister, some clue to authenticity, pride and quality. Then, most probably I will buy some. German wine labels become easier to understand and they are always truthful, whatever the bottle contains!

Dornfelder was heralded as being the future for English red wine production, but unfortunately it has proved to be most susceptible to mildew and has the most disappointing habit of rotting from within the bunch as it approaches ripeness. All its forebears are warmer clime varieties and so I believe that we may be just outside its tolerance. I have found it to be impossible to ripen outdoors in Suffolk, but I am beginning to get encouraging results under cold glass. Last year gave my second crop (4th year). The must was 74^o Oechsle and I think the wine I made to be of fair quality and that the future wines may be better!

Dornfelder has the potential for producing most satisfying wines. Its parents are Helfensteiner and Heroldrebe produced from crosses made by Professor Herold. Helfensteiner is Frühburgunder ( an early clone of Pinot Noir) X Trollinger (Black Hamburgh) and  Heroldrebe is Blauportugieser X Limburger (Blaufrankisch), which are all distinguished old varieties.

This line breeding continues in the newer Acolon which is a Limburger, Dornfelder cross and is being recommended for UK production. It ripens earlier than Dornfelder, has a little more sugar, an even higher yield potential, but lower acids. It is as susceptible to mildews and botrytis as Dornfelder, but as yet I have no notion of its worth.

Alan Rowe

Dornfelder photograph reprinted with permission from Successful Grape Growing for Eating and WIne-Making by Alan Rowe, published by Groundnut Publishing.