Rimava is a red

Slovak wine Slovak wine is produced in the southern part of Slovakia, which is divided into 6 wine-producing areas. Although Slovak wines except Tokaj (Slovakia), Tokaj are not well-known internationally, they are popular domestically and in neighbouring count ...

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

that is a crossing of the Southwest France wine grapes

Abouriou Abouriou (French spelling of Occitan ''aboriu'', early) is a red French wine grape variety grown primarily in Southwest France and, in small quantities, California. It is a blending grape that, along with Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Fer ...

and Castets. The variety was created in 1976 at the VSSVVM Research and Breeding Station for Enology and Viticulture in

Modra Modra (german: Modern, hu, Modor, Latin: ''Modur'') is a city and municipality in the Bratislava Region in Slovakia. It has a population of 9,042 as of 2018. It nestles in the foothills of the Malé Karpaty (Little Carpathian mountains) and i ...

. The grape was named after the Rimava river, a tributary of the

Sajó The Sajó ( , Hungarian) or Slaná ( Slovak) is a river in Slovakia and Hungary. Its length is 229 km, of which 110 km is in Slovakia. Its source is in the Stolica Mountains range of the Slovak Ore Mountains. It flows through the ...

. Along with Nitranka,

Hron The Hron ( sk, Hron; german: Gran; hu, Garam; la, Granus) is a long left tributary of the Danube Váh The Váh (; german: Waag, ; hu, Vág; pl, WagWag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów ...

, which were created using the same parent varieties, Rimava was officially authorized for commercial wine production in 2011.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pg 894, Allen Lane 2012

Viticulture

Rimava is a mid to late

budding Budding or blastogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction in which a new organism develops from an outgrowth or bud due to cell division at one particular site. For example, the small bulb-like projection coming out from the yeast cell is kno ...

and

ripening Ripening is a process in fruits that causes them to become more palatable. In general, fruit becomes sweeter, less green, and softer as it ripens. Even though the acidity of fruit increases as it ripens, the higher acidity level does not make th ...

grape variety that tends to produce very small berries but can be highly productive and high yielding. While the vine has good resistance to spring time frost due to its late budding nature, it is not very winter hardy and the vine can be seriously damaged by hard winter frosts. Being planted on poorer vineyard soils will limit some of Rimava vigor.

Wine regions

Being only officially authorized for wine production since 2011, Rimava is not yet widely planted in Slovakia with 3

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

s (7 acres) of the grape planted in 2011. It is currently found in the Južnoslovenská and Malokarpatská wine regions of southwest Slovakia.

Styles

According to

Master of Wine Master of Wine (MW) is a qualification (not an academic degree) issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom. The MW qualification is generally regarded in the wine industry as one of the highest standards of professional knowle ...

Jancis Robinson, well made examples of Rimava from favorable

vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

s can be the most Cabernet Sauvignon-like of all the Abouriou x Castets crossings. The grape has the potential to produce full-bodied and deeply colored wines with the ability to age and improve further in the bottle.

Synonyms

The only known synonym for Rimava recognized by the

Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung Gei ...

(VIVC) is CAAB 3/12.

(VIVC)
Rimava
' Accessed: April 15th

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties