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Müller-Thurgau

The white grape variety is a new variety between Riesling x Madeleine Royale. Some synonyms point to the parentage Riesling x Sylvaner, which was wrongly assumed for a long time. Within the European Union, those names that refer to it, such as Riesling-Sylvaner, are no longer permitted. The most important are Müller, Müller-Thurgau Rebe, Müller Thurgau Weiß, Weißer Müller-Thurgau (Germany); Müller-Thurgau Blanc (France); Uva di Lauria (Italy); Riesling-Silvaner, Riesling x Silvaner, Riesling-Sylvaner (New Zealand, Switzerland); Rivaner (Austria, Luxembourg), Rizlingszilvani (Hungary), Rizvanac, Müller-Thurgau Bijeli, Rizvanac Bijeli (Croatia); Rizanec, Rizvanec (Slovenia); Muller Thurgau White (USA).

Müller-Thurgau - Weintraube und Blatt

Determination of parenthood

The determination of parentage dragged on for decades, until in 1996 the paternity of the Silvaner, which had been doubted time and again anyway, proved to be false. The breeder was the Swiss Dr. Hermann Müller-Thurgau (1850-1927) from Tägerwilen in the canton of Thurgau. He worked at the Königliche Lehranstalt für Obst- und Weinbau in Geisenheim (Rheingau) from 1867 to 1890. In issue no. 26 of the journal "Der Weinbau" of 24 June 1882, he formulated the breeding objective of the crossbreeding experiments: "How important, for example, a grape variety could become for some wine-growing regions that combined with the delicious characteristics of the Riesling grape the safe and earlier ripening time of the Sylvaner." Until 1890, the preliminary testing of the new varieties resulting from the breeding of the Riesling x Silvaner varieties still took place in Geisenheim.

In 1891, Hermann Müller-Thurgau was called to his home in Wädenswil in the canton of Zurich to establish and build up the Federal Institute on the Geisenheim model. He had 150 of his seedlings pre-tested in Geisenheim come to Wädenswil. There Heinrich Schellenberg (1868-1967) selected the best seedling No. 58 and propagated it in 1897 under the name "Riesling x Silvaner 1". The Bavarian Court Councillor August Dern (1858-1930), a former employee of Müller-Thurgau in Geisenheim, brought 100 vines of this new breed back to Germany in 1913 and named them "Müller-Thurgau-Rebe" in honour of the breeder (which, by the way, Müller-Thurgau rejected, he always named them after their supposed parents).

Müller-Thurgau himself was sceptical about the parent Riesling x Silvaner at an early stage and expressed his concerns in a letter to August Dern, whom he accused of having "taken the wrong grape variety with him from Geisenheim". The thesis that the variety was not a Riesling x Silvaner cross was strengthened early on by the fact that not a single one of the later Geisenheim, Würzburg and Alzey Riesling x Silvaner crosses corresponded to the character of "Müller-Thurgau" (one of the trials was Multaner). As early as 1950, Dr. Heinrich Birk (1898-1973) pointed out these connections for the first time. Dr. Hans Breider (1908-2000) also came to the conclusion in 1952 that he could find too few characteristics of the supposed pollen donor "Silvaner". Dr. Heinz-Martin Eichelsbacher (1924-2003) came to the conclusion in 1957 through many analyses that the variety "Müller-Thurgau" originated from the Riesling-Muskateller-Gutedel form group.

For a while, a self-crossing Riesling x Riesling was also assumed. Finally, in 1996, at the Klosterneuburger Weinbauinstitut in Lower Austria, the biologist Dr. Ferdinand Regner identified Admirable de Courtiller (Chasselas de Courtiller) as the father variety by means of DNA analyses. However, analyses carried out shortly afterwards at the Geilweilerhof Institute (Pfalz-Germany) verified that the father variety examined and correctly identified by Dr. Regner was Madeleine Royale (Regner was the first to identify the "correct" vine, but it was not correctly named). Both institutes therefore deserve credit for solving the mystery. Finally, in 2010, the Swiss Dr. Jose F. Vouillamoz completed the family tree of Müller-Thurgau (descent of Madeleine Royale).

Riesling (Mutter) x Madeleine Royale (Vater) = Müller-Thurgau

Offspring through new varieties and mutations

Due to its good characteristics, it was and is a popular crossing partner for new varieties. These include the varieties Albalonga, Arnsburger, Bacchus, Diana (1), Faberrebe, Floriánka, Fontanara, Gloria, Goldriesling (2), Grando, Gutenborner, Helios (1), Hildegardistraube, Kanzler, Mariensteiner, Markant, Medea, Mília, Montagna, Muscabona, Muscat Bleu, Optima, Ortega, Pálava, Perle, Rabaner, Regner, Reichensteiner, Schantlrebe, Septimer, Tamara, Thekla, Thurling and Würzer. Two mutations of Müller-Thurgau are Findling (earlier ripening) and Roter Müller-Thurgau (berry colour).

Characteristics and growing areas

The early-maturing, high-yielding vine is susceptible to both types of mildew, botrytis as well as red burner. It prefers cool locations and is therefore very suitable for northern growing areas. The variety produces fruity-fresh, rather low-acid white wines of a light yellow colour with a discreet muscat tone. Due to its special aromatic characteristics, it is called a bouquet variety. It is quite often used as a mass producer, but with appropriate yield reduction and auzsbau it also has quality potential. Müller-Thurgau is not only in Germany, but worldwide one of the absolutely most successful new varieties, which was widely cultivated in many countries from the middle of the 20th century.

In the 1920s and 1930s, many experimental vineyards were established in Germany with the Müller-Thurgau grape. But it was not until 1970 that it was classified as a recommended variety in all German growing regions. In the period from 1975 to 1995, it was always at the top of the German grape variety list and was only then superseded by Riesling. Since then, the trend has been steadily downwards, but in 2018 Müller-Thurgau was still the second most common grape variety with a total of 12,057 hectares of vineyards. It is particularly widespread in the growing regions of Rheinhessen, Baden, Pfalz, Mosel and Franconia. In Austria, it is cultivated in almost all wine-growing regions on 1,788 hectares with a likewise declining trend.

Other populations in Europe are found in England (15 ha), France (2 ha), Italy mainly in Trentino-South Tyrol, (1,296 ha), Croatia, Luxembourg (316 ha), Moldova (4 ha), Romania (0.2 ha), Russia (106 ha), Switzerland (465 ha), Slovakia (509 ha), Slovenia (128 ha), Spain, Czech Republic (1,479 ha) and Hungary (1,670 ha). Outside Europe, there are populations in Australia (1 ha), Japan (22 ha), Canada (6 ha) and New Zealand (2 ha), as well as in the US states of California, Oregon and Washington (39 ha). In JKashre 2016, a total of 19,501 hectares of vines were planted, with a strong downward trend (2,000 had been 33,587 ha). This puts it in 41st place in the global grape variety ranking (Kym Anderson statistics).

Sources: Readers' forum of the magazine "Das Deutsche Weinmagazin" 1998, issue 22, pages 8-9. With kind permission of Dr. Joachim Schmid, Department of Grapevine Breeding and Grapevine Improvement, Research Institute Geisenheim. Helmut Becker, 1976, Genetische Konstitution, züchterische Bearbeitung und Leistung von Müller-Thurgau, Die Weinwissenschaft, 31st Jg., 26-37. Heinrich Müller-Thurgau, F. Koblet: Kreuzungsergebnisse bei Reben. Landwirtschaftliches Jahrbuch Schweiz 1924, 499-562. Ferdinand Regner, 1996, Mitteilungen Klosterneuburg.

Pictures: Ursula Brühl, Doris Schneider, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)

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Sigi Hiss

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Sigi Hiss
freier Autor und Weinberater (Fine, Vinum u.a.), Bad Krozingen

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