The Scheurebe is a crossing of Riesling and Bukettraube, and was created by German viticulturalist Georg Scheu in 1916. The Scheurebe is regarded as an aromatic variety due to its pronounced bouquet of blackcurrants, tropical fruit and stone fruit.
Parentage: Bred by Georg Scheu as a “Sämling”, or seedling, from Riesling and Bukettraube at the Landesanstalt für Rebenzüchtung in Alzey. Scheu numbered all of his young plants consecutively, and this particular one was Seedling Number 88 – thus the name Sämling 88, a synonym for the “Scheu Vine”, or Scheurebe.
Vineyard area: Grown mostly in Burgenland and Steiermark. Between 1999 and 2015, the variety's total vineyard surface in Austria dropped, therefore, its importance is in decline.
Important ampelographic features:
Leaf: medium-sized, circular, deep-lobed
Grape cluster: medium-sized; cylindrical; shouldered; dense, round yellowish-green berries with a typical nutmeg-nuanced Sämling flavour.
Ripening time: mid-season
Significance, conditions: Waning in importance. At Lake Neusiedl, TBA, Strohwein and Schilfwein styles are vinified. Requires good vineyard sites; sturdy with a high tolerance for dryness and limestone and very resistant to winter frost.
Wine: Only fully ripe grapes bring full-bodied wines. With unripe grapes, the Sämling tone is obvious and unpleasant. When highly ripe, Prädikat wines are possible.
