Dunkelfelder is a dark-skinned variety of

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

used for red

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

. It was created by German

viticulturalist Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

Gustav Adolf Froelich (1847-1912).Wein-Plus Glossar: Dunkelfelder
accessed on January 24, 2013 He probably crossed Färbertraube (a ''

teinturier Teinturier grapes are grapes whose flesh and juice is red in colour due to anthocyanin pigments accumulating within the pulp of the grape berry itself. In most cases, anthocyanin pigments are confined to the outer skin tissue only, and the squee ...

'') with Blauer Portugieser.Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Dunkelfelder
, accessed on April 24, 2008 The variety, initially called Froelich V 4-4, did not receive any attention for several decades until work was continued on it at

Geisenheim grape breeding institute The Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute was founded in 1872 and is located in the town of Geisenheim, in Germany's Rheingau region. In 1876 Swiss-born professor Hermann Müller joined the institute, where he developed his namesake grape variety M ...

in the 1930s. It was named Dunkelfelder (''dunkel'' = dark) by

ampelographer Ampelography ( ἄμπελος, "vine" + γράφος, "writing") is the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines, ''Vitis'' spp. Traditionally this has been done by comparing the shape and colour of the ...

Helmut Becker Helmut Becker (8 March 1927 – 19 July 1990), German viticulturist, was chief of the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute.Andrew G Reynolds, ''Grapevine Breeding Programs for the Wine Industry: Traditional and Molecular Techniques'' Elsevier, 2015, ...

, due to its unclear parentage and its dark colour. Dunkelfelder received varietal protection and was released for general cultivation in 1980. In 2006, there were of Dunkelfelder in Germany, with an approximately constant trend.German Wine Institute: German Wine Statistics 2007-2008
Plantings of Dunkelfelder are primarily found in Ahr,

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

, Nahe, Palatinate and

Rheinhessen Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...

. Dunkelfelder wines are deep and dark red in colour, which used to be difficult to achieve with German red wines, and it has therefore often been used for blends, although

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

Dunkelfelder wines are also produced. It is known under the synonyms Farbtraube Froelich, Froelich V 4-4 and Purpur.

References

{{Reflist Red wine grape varieties