Siebeldingen - the new Calardis Blanc grape variety grown in the Palatinate has overcome a decisive obstacle by taking its place on the official list of varieties.
The Julius Kun Institute for Cultivated Plants (JKI) announced Tuesday that the characteristics of viticulture and quality have been studied in detail. The first obstacle was overcome in January 2018, when the Federal Plant Variety Office provided protection for plant varieties.
Many grape varieties at one time completely disappeared due to phylloxera - a pest brought from North America. Thus, the varieties from which Madera was produced died, and now it is made entirely from other varieties.
Work on a new grape variety began in 1993 at the Institute for Grape Breeding at JKI, in the town of Siebeldingen in the Palatinate. This is a cross between Calardis Musqué, which also comes from the area, and Seyve Villard 39-639 from the Rhone Valley.
The name Calardis comes from Calardiswilre or Gailhardiswilre, the historical name of Geilweilerhof. The white grape variety has shown good results when experimentally grown in vineyards, notes JKI. Fruit, lively white wines and sparkling secco or sparkling wines were made from grapes.
Calardis Blanc is one of several new vines that are classified as fungal resistant varieties, called Piwis for short. “In the course of climate change and its extreme weather conditions, fungal diseases and stressful situations are becoming more common, so the cultivation of new hardy varieties is so important for viticulture,” said Reinhard Töpfer, head of the Institute for Grape Breeding at JKI.
- Earlier we wrote that French robots will be closely engaged in grapes.
- Currently, grape leaves make a significant contribution to the increase in income of residents of Khotan Prefecture in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang in northwestern China. Located on the edge of the Takli Makan Desert, the prefecture boasts plenty of sunshine, low rainfall and a large temperature difference between day and night, making it an ideal place to grow fruit.
- The Ministry of Agriculture provides non-refundable assistance to protect the vineyards, as in previous years, with an annual budget of about 800 thousand dollars, the Ministry said on Thursday.
