The grape variety originates from Germany. It is a white wine variety, so the name is misleading. The multi-layered berry colour plays between grey, pink, red to violet, but the depth of colour is not sufficient for pressing a red wine. It is probably a colour mutation of the Silvaner variety (Grüner Silvaner and Roter Silvaner). The Franconian winegrower Johann Kaspar Steinmann (Schloss Sommerhausen winery) discovered a vine of Blauer Silvaner in a vineyard in 1964. After many selections, 12 years later he provided a clone to the Bundessortenamt for register testing. This examination was completed in 1984 and the variety Blauer Silvaner ST25 was entered in the variety list as a yielding variety. This particular clone is the property of the Steinmann Vine Nursery, which is also registered as a conservation breeder. The medium to late ripening vine yields fruity white wines with herbal aromas. In Germany, it is cultivated by the vineyards Kloster Pforta (Saale-Unstrut), H. Deppisch and Schloss Sommerhausen (Franconia), among others. In 2018, 29 hectares of vineyards were designated in Germany (D-STATIS).
Blauer Silvaner was included by Slow Food in 2021 as a "passenger" of the "Ark of Taste" as a variety worthy of protection. The many names or synonyms with the adjective "blue" or "black" suggest that there used to be a red wine variety Blauer Silvaner with dark-coloured berries (Blaue Bodenseetraube, Blauer Österreicher, Blauer Reifler, Blauer Schönfeilner, Blauer Zierfahndler, Bodenseeburgunder, Schwarzer Österreicher, Schwarzer Silvaner, Schwarzer Zierfandler, Süßschwarze and Sylvaner Rouge). This variety was common at Lake Constance and in Alsace.
Pictures: Ursula Brühl, Doris Schneider, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)
