Huxelrebe is a white

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

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

. Huxelrebe is primarily found in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, where the cultivated area covered in 2019, with a decreasing trend. It is primarily found in the German wine regions

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- ...

, Palatinate and Nahe. Small plantations are also found in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

.Wein-Plus Glossar: Huxelrebe
accessed on March 6, 2013

Properties

Huxelrebe is a very high-yielding variety which ripens early. If yields are controlled, it can make very high-quality

s, primarily sweet wines as an apéritif or

dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal ...

, and it usually can reach

Auslese ''Auslese'' (literal meaning: "selected harvest"; plural form is ''Auslesen'') is a German language wine term for a late harvest wine and is a riper category than Spätlese in the '' Prädikatswein'' category of the Austrian and German wine cl ...

ripeness even in a lesser year.German Wine Institute: Grape varieties - Huxelrebe
, accessed on October 16, 2008 The wines tend to be high in acidity and have aromas of

rhubarb Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of '' Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The whole plant – a herbaceous perennial growing from short, thick rhi ...

. Higher-end Huxelrebe wines made from riper grapes often have muscat-like aromas in addition.

History and parentage

Huxelrebe was created by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

viticulturalist Dr.

Georg Scheu Georg Scheu (21 June 1879 in Krefeld, Rhine Province, Germany – 2 November 1949, in Alzey, Rhineland-Palatinate), was a German botanist, plant physiologist, oenologist and grape breeder. Biography Georg Scheu completed horticultural trainin ...

(1879-1949) in 1927, when he was working as director of a grape-breeding institute in

Alzey Alzey () is a ''Verband''-free town – one belonging to no ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fifth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, Ingelheim am Rhein and Bingen. ...

, by crossing

Gutedel Chasselas or Chasselas blanc is a wine grape variety grown mainly in Switzerland, France, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, New Zealand, Croatia and Chile. Chasselas is mostly vinified to be a full, dry and fruity white wine. It ...

(

Chasselas Chasselas or Chasselas blanc is a wine grape variety grown mainly in Switzerland, France, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, New Zealand, Croatia and Chile. Chasselas is mostly vinified to be a full, dry and fruity white wine. It ...

) with Courtiller Musqué ( Muscat Précoce de Saumur).Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Huxelrebe
, accessed on October 16, 2008 It received varietal protection in 1969. Initially known under its breeding code Alzey S 3962, the variety was named after viticulturalist and nursery owner Fritz Huxel (1892-1972), who was the first to cultivate it extensively. This took place in the 1950s in

Westhofen Westhofen is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location Westhofen lies between Worms (r ...

, and Huxel became an important champion of the variety. Huxel won many prizes for his Huxelrebe wines. The ''Rebe'' part of the name is

for

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

Synonyms

Huxelrebe has no other synonyms than its breeding code Alzey S 3962 or AS 3962.

References

{{Reflist White wine grape varieties