350 years Silvaner - renaissance of a classic

Where it comes from? There are witty anecdotes about its origin. The gloomy Transylvania has been mentioned due to its name; however not the frosty temperatures which would have caused the sensitive vine to tremble quickly. The wood god Silvanus and a small Asian village called Silvan have been mentioned. Modern genetic analytical processes have now brought the answer: The Silvaner is a mixture of Traminer, one of the oldest vine types in the world and the "Österreichisch Weiss".

So yes it came from Austria to Franconia in the middle of the 17th century, the first vines are said to have been brought here thanks to the friendly connection between the Zisterzienser monastery in Ebrach and its mother house in Austria. There is a document that states the planting of 25 vines of "Österreicher", thats what the Silvaner used to be called then, in Castell in April 1659. This document was signed by Johann Georg Körner, comital civil servant in Castell. From there the Silvaner spread throughout the whole of Germany and for a very long time it was the most important vine type. Today the Silvaner is cultivated on 5300 hectares in Germany, this is about 5 percent of the growing fields. However, the Silvaner does not have any deeper roots elsewhere than here in Franconia.

For Karl Martin Schmitt, chairman of VDP Prädikatsweingüter Franconia: "the Silvaner is a synonym for Franconia, like the Pinot Noir is a synonym for the Burgundy." What makes it special: The Silvaner is a delicate all rounder, which has a very wide range of tastes despite its moderate acid. "It brings the whole range of light appetite as well as the full of character type of large wines", says Karl Martin Schmitt. On top of that it perfectly mirrors its origin: shell limestone, Buntsandstein, Keuper - three soils mark the Franconian Silvaner and make it form distinctive top wines in the Ersten Lagen of the VDP Prädikatsweingüter. (aw.yoopress)