Winegrowers Supplies
- Vine Varieties - information
For the most detailed information available on individual vine varieties, click here then scroll down to the list of varieties at the end, and click on the underlined variety name.
Note: Piwi (pilzwiderstandsfähige) is a new term to define vine varieties that have been described
previously as hybrids, direct producers, interspecific, disease-resistant, disease-tolerant.
Piwi cultivars
have originated from cross-breeding (without the aid of gene implants) between
European cultivars (Vitis vinifera) and disease resistant American species;
some new crossings are very complex and may contain Vitis amurensis (from Russia) or species from Asia.
Most of the cultivars that are still known as hybrids or direct producers were bred between 1880 and 1935 in France.
Piwi implies a certain resistance or tolerance towards the fungal diseases that are present locally or world-wide. Such diseases infect all pure vinifera cultivars (e.g. Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Riesling etc.) where an out-of-control infestation can lead to total crop loss. These vinifera varieties need to be sprayed with approved fungicides 6 to 10 times during the growing season; the fungicides inevitably enter our environment.
Thoughts on choosing vine varieties
Vine varieties by style of wine
Vine varieties for Sparkling wine
Vine varieties by harvest time
Average harvest dates of varieties grown at Dunkery Vineyard - Exmoor
Clones and selection massales some thoughts from a French vine nursery
Clones of Pinot noir - French clones and German clones
Seedless grape varieties, for eating