Dornfelder
Classic aromas of Dornfelder are Red Cherry, Blackberry, Raspberry and Red Plum
Dornfelder is without a doubt one of the most successful grapevine crosses to have occurred in recent history. It was crossed with two lesser-known German red grapes in 1956 by August Herold in Baden-Wurrtemberg, the two grapes being 'Helfensteiner' and 'Heroldrebe' and is named after the founder of the school of viticulture in where the crossing took place.
Initially it was a very slow and steady increase as scientists had to convince others to plant Dornfelder. Yet, in the early 1980s its popularity soared and planting doubled coming to 8,101ha across Germany. The fair majority of Dornfelder plantings are the warmer regions of Rheinhessen and Pfalz.
There have been a very small amount of Dornfelder to leave Germany but a surprising amount of countries now have plantings. Everywhere from Switzerland, Czech Republic to less likely places such as England, California, New York State, and Japan.
Dornfelder produces medium bodied red wines that have high acidity and plush tannins. It has aromas of red plum, cherry, raspberry and blackberries. It also has enough tannins and textural weight to hold up to some light oak work where it will gain some vanilla and dried herb flavours.