Vine variety: Acolon (originally known as We 71-816-102)

Mother: Blauer Limberger
Father: Dornfelder
Year of breeding: 1971

Country of origin: Germany
Year of entry into the German Federal Office's Varieties Register: 
Breeder/License holder: Staatliche Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt fur Wein- und Obstbau,
                                  Weinsberg
Number of clones: 0
Area planted in Germany in 2001: 78.72 hectares (490 trial sites)
Area planted in England (as at August 2004): only one or two hectares
         Piers Greenwood at New Hall Vineyards (Malden) is the main English grower.

Wine Character - colour: red, high colour intensity, decent tannins
                      - bouquet: fine, fruity
                      - palate: Limberger-like, high sugar-free-extract (25.8 g/l), good structure
                                   and a long aftertaste

Time of bud-burst: later than Limberger

Strength of growth: strong, upright
Growth of side-shoots: low to middle

Flowering time: 
Flowering strength: high

Leaf: - size:                                    - shape: 
        - colour: 
        - surface undulation:                - petiolar sinus: 

Grape bunch: - size:                         - density: loose
Berries:        - size:                         - shape: 
                   - skin colour: 

Time of veraison: early
Time of harvest: middle, earlier than Pinot Noir but can be left longer on the vine if not affected by Downy Mildew.

Grape yield: middle
Must-weight: high
Must-acidity: middle

Wood ripening: better than Limberger
Winter hardiness: 
Wood colour: 

Chlorosis resistance: 
Susceptibility to - Oidium: low                    - Peronospora: high
                       - Botrytis: low                   - Roter Brenner: 
                       - Phomopsis                      - Stem-atrophy: 

Preferred soil: 
Suitable rootstocks: 

Normal stem height: 
Normal row spacing: 
Vine spacing in the row: 

Winter Pruning:       eyes/buds per sq. metre of land occupied by the plant.

Advantages: The variety is now authorised in the UK.

Disadvantages: It is particularly prone to Downy Mildew (Peronospora), so a careful spray programme in necessary.

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