View source for Scheurebe

{{Short description|Variety of grape}}
{{Infobox grape variety
| name          = Scheurebe
| image         = Scheurebe.jpg
| caption       = Scheurebe
| species       = ''[[Vitis vinifera]]''
| also_called   = Sämling 88, Scheu, Dr. Wagnerrebe
| origin        = [[Alzey]], [[Germany]]
| hazards       = <!-- Viticultural hazards     -->
| regions       = [[Austria]], Germany
| notable_wines = [[Trockenbeerenauslese]] from [[Lake Neusiedl]]
}}

'''Scheurebe''' ({{IPA|de|ˈʃɔɪˌʁeːbə|-|De-Scheurebe.ogg}}) or '''Sämling 88''' is a white [[wine]] [[grape]] variety. It is primarily grown in [[German wine|Germany]] and [[Austrian wine|Austria]], where it often is called Sämling 88 (''English'': [[Seedling]] 88), and some parts of the [[New World]]. Scheurebe wines are highly aromatic, and the variety is often used for sweet wines, although dry Scheurebe wines have become more common in Germany.<ref name="Clarke Scheurebe">{{cite book | last = Clarke | first = Oz | title = Grapes and Wines | publisher = [[Little, Brown and Company]] | year = 2001 | pages = 228–229 | isbn = 0-316-85726-2 }}</ref><ref name="OCW Scheurebe">{{cite encyclopedia |editor=Jancis Robinson |editor-link=Jancis Robinson |encyclopedia=[[Oxford Companion to Wine]] |edition=Third |title=Scheurebe |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-860990-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00janc/page/615 615] |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00janc/page/615 }}</ref><ref name="trink">Christoph Raffelt, [https://trinkmag.com/articles/drink-more-scheu Drink More Scheu!], dated 7 April 2021, accessed on 29 September 2021.</ref>

== History and parentage ==

Scheurebe was created by [[Germany|German]] viticulturalist Dr. [[Georg Scheu]] (1879–1949) in 1916<!-- Oz Clarke says 1915, but other sources including VIVC agree on 1916 -->, when he was working as director of a grape-breeding institute in [[Alzey]] in [[Rheinhessen (wine region)|Rheinhessen]], by crossing [[Riesling]] with an unknown wild vine.<ref name="VIVC Scheurebe">[http://www.vivc.de/datasheet/dataResult.php?data=10818 Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Scheurebe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303203311/http://www.vivc.de/datasheet/dataResult.php?data=10818 |date=2016-03-03 }}, accessed on May 4, 2008</ref><ref name="WP Scheurebe">[http://www.wein-plus.eu/en/Scheurebe_3.0.1488.html Wein-Plus Glossar: Scheurebe], accessed on January 23, 2013</ref> According to the German grape-breeder [[Helmut Becker]], Scheu's purpose was to create a superior version of [[Silvaner]], with more aroma and greater resistance to frost damage and [[chlorosis]].<ref name="Clarke Scheurebe"/> It was long assumed that Scheurebe was Silvaner x Riesling, but DNA analysis in the late 1990s ruled out Silvaner as a parent, while confirming Riesling as the father. It is known that Scheu was working on wild vines, so it is possible that a misidentification of the cross took place.<ref name="WP Scheurebe"/> According to official Austrian sources it is in fact a cross between Riesling and [[Bouquet Blanc]] (''Bukettraube'').<ref name="Regner">''Verzeichnis der österreichischen Qualitätsweinrebsorten und deren Klone.'' Höhere Bundeslehranstalt und Bundesamt für Wein- und Obstbau Klosterneuburg, Klosterneuburg, 2008.</ref>

Seedling (in [[German language|German]] ''Sämling'') number 88 was simply Scheu's serial number for the vine plant selected for its properties. It was named in Scheu's honour in 1945.<ref name="OCW Scheurebe"/><ref>[http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-DE/nav/3a8/3a850b82-fba0-6401-e76c-d7b482058468&_ic_uCon=bcf70eb9-a0a2-c401-be59-26461d7937aa German Wine Institute: Scheurebe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227200928/http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-DE/nav/3a8/3a850b82-fba0-6401-e76c-d7b482058468%26_ic_uCon%3Dbcf70eb9-a0a2-c401-be59-26461d7937aa |date=2015-02-27 }} (longer German version), accessed on October 16, 2008 {{in lang|de}}</ref> The ''Rebe'' suffix is simply the German word for vine. Scheurebe received varietal protection and was released for general cultivation in Germany in 1956, after Scheu's death.<ref name="WP Scheurebe"/>

== Varietal character ==
When produced from [[fully ripe grapes]], Scheurebe wines are dominated by rich [[blackcurrant]] aromas supplemented by [[grapefruit]]. Well-made dry Scheurebe wines can be quite full-bodied, but dry wines made from not fully ripe grapes tend to be dominated by the grapefruit component, and display it in an aggressive manner which makes for a clumsy, unattractive wine. Scheurebe therefore tends to be easier to use for sweet wines made from grapes that are fully ripe, overripe or affected by [[noble rot]]. Well-made sweet Scheurebe wines can show intense aromas of blood grape and [[honey]].<ref name="Clarke Scheurebe"/><ref name="OCW Scheurebe"/>

It has been pointed out that Scheurebe retains quite a bit of Riesling character, although it is somewhat less acidic and can tend to be more clumsy.<ref name="Clarke Scheurebe"/> Just as Riesling, its wines tend to show ''[[terroir]]'' variation, and it has been called the single new breed variety of German origin that deserves serious attention for the quality of its wines.<ref name="OCW Scheurebe"/><ref name="trink"/>

== Scheurebe in various regions ==

=== Germany ===
In 2018, there were {{convert|1412|ha}} of Scheurebe in Germany, or 1.7% of the total vineyard surface.<ref name="Statistics 19-20">[https://www.deutscheweine.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Statistik_2019-2020.pdf German Wine Institute, German Wine Statistics 2019–2020] (PDF-file; 700&nbsp;kB)</ref> Plantings are most common in [[Palatinate (wine region)|Palatinate]], Rheinhessen and [[Nahe (wine region)|Nahe]].<ref>[http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/dcf/dcf10e27-03d8-2501-e76c-d461d7937aae&_ic_uCon=8a52e270-3d82-501e-76cd-461d7937aae2 German Wine Institute: Scheurebe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718231820/http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/dcf/dcf10e27-03d8-2501-e76c-d461d7937aae%26_ic_uCon%3D8a52e270-3d82-501e-76cd-461d7937aae2 |date=2011-07-18 }} (shorter English version), accessed on October 16, 2008</ref> The trend for planted area is decreasing, just as for all other German white "new breeds" since the 1980s. It is possible that the reason for Scheurebe's continued decline, despite being appreciated by many international wine critics, is because it is associated with sweet wines while there has been a large-scale move to dry wines in some German regions where Scheurebe has been commonly planted.<ref name="OCW Scheurebe"/> While overall German plantations of Scheurebe has continued to decrease, some top estates in the Palatinate have in fact reintroduced small amounts of Scheurebe in their vineyards from the mid-1990s.<ref name="OCW Scheurebe"/>

=== Austria ===
In Austria, the variety is found primarily in [[Burgenland]] and [[Styria]], but the total amount of Scheurebe cultivated is much smaller than in Germany. It is however used for some highly rated sweet wines, such as concentrated noble rot-affected [[Trockenbeerenauslese]]n in the [[Lake Neusiedl|Neusiedlersee]] region, where producers include [[Alois Kracher]].<ref name="OCW Scheurebe"/><ref>[http://www.weinausoesterreich.at/wein/ww_scheurebe.html Wein aus Österreich: Scheurebe], accessed on May 4, 2008</ref>

=== Other locations ===
Some Scheurebe is grown in [[California wine|California]], [[Oregon wine|Oregon]], Western Australia, and Nova Scotia, Canada. It has also recently been introduced in Switzerland where it is cultivated by a handful of wine-growers in Geneva.

== Synonyms ==
Synonyms for Scheurebe include Alzey S. 88, Dr. Wagnerrebe, S 88, [[Seedling|Sämling]], Sämling 88, Scheu, Scheu 88 and Scheu Riesling.<ref name="OCW Scheurebe"/><ref name="VIVC Scheurebe"/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:White wine grape varieties]]