The white grape variety is a rarely occurring or only in small quantities cultivated variety of Traminer (see general information there). There are numerous synonyms, some of which are also used for the variety Gewürztraminer and some for Traminer in general. The most important ones, grouped alphabetically by country, are Mala Dinka, Prinç(Bulgaria); Clevner, Clevener, Durbacher Clevner, Rotfrenschen, Traminer (Germany); Fromenteau Rouge, Fromenté Rose, Klevener de Heiligenstein, Savagnin Rose Non Musque, Savagnin Rouge (France); Traminac Crveni, Traminac Rdeci (Croatia); Roter Traminer, Traminer (Austria); Heidarot (Switzerland); Piros Tramini (Hungary). Savagnin Rose is a rosy berry mutation of Savagnin Blanc. It is often confused with Gewürztraminer, a mutation of Savagnin Rose with musque tone. Since Savagnin Rose does not have this tone, it is also called Savagnin Rose Non Musqué.
Despite seemingly suggestive synonyms or morphological similarities, it must not be confused with the varieties Kövidinka (Mala Dinka) or Pinot Gris (Kleiner Traminer). The Swiss botanist Johannes Bauhin (1541-1613) describes the variety "Rotfrenschen" in his work "Historia Plantarum Universalis", published posthumously in 1650, which is considered the first mention of Savagnin Rose. In France, the name Savagnin Rose was first mentioned in 1868 by Victor Pulliat (1827-1896). The early-ripening vine is sensitive to frost and prone to trickling. It produces white wines with less pronounced aromas than Gewürztraminer, similar to Traminer (Savagnin Blanc).
Under the name Savagnin Rose, 45 hectares are cultivated in France almost exclusively in Alsace, where it is used for the local speciality Klevener de Heiligenstein. In Hungary, the variety is grown on 0.6 hectares in the Somló area. In the municipality of Durbach in the Baden growing region, a white wine is poroduced under the name Durbacher Clevner. This could be Savagnin Rose; however, no stock has been reported under this name.
In the Kym Anderson statistics, quantities are given under the three names Gewürztraminer, Savagnin Blanc and Savagnin Rose. In 2016, 46 hectares of vines were reported for the Savagnin Rose variety. The quantities of all countries with the different Traminer varieties are included under the keyword Gewürztraminer.
Source: Wine Grapes / J. Robinson, J. Harding, J. Vouillamoz / Penguin Books Ltd. 2012
Images: Ursula Brühl, Doris Schneider, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)
