Sylvaner; Silvaner
[sihl-VAN-uhr; sihl-VAH-ner; Ger. zihl-vahnehr]
This productive white-wine grape was once the most widely planted vine in Germany (where it’s spelled Silvaner) but has now been replaced by the prolific MÜLLER-THURGAU (long thought to be a Riesling/Sylvaner HYBRID but recently found to be unrelated to Sylvaner). However, Sylvaner is still extensively cultivated in Germany, particularly in RHEINHESSEN, PFALZ, and FRANKEN. Although this grape is believed to have originated in Austria, very little is planted there now. The extensive plantings once found in France’s ALSACE region have now also dwindled, and only small amounts of Sylvaner come out of Switzerland and northern Italy. California—where Sylvaner is variously called Sylvaner Riesling, Franken Riesling, Monterey Riesling, and Sonoma Riesling—has all but abandoned this variety. Sylvaner grapes generally produce LIGHT, SOFT wines with noticeable ACIDITY and pleasant but not pronounced AROMA and flavor. Some of today’s best Sylvaner wines derive from Alsace, Franken (where this variety is often called Franken Riesling), northern Italy, and Switzerland (where it’s also called Johannisberger). The correct name for this grape is actually Grüner Sylvaner, differentiating it from the rarely grown, pale-red strain called Blauer Sylvaner. Other names for Sylvaner include Osterreicher and Gentil Vert.
Related Links:
Rheinterrasse, Muller-Thurgau, Rheinhessen
© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc.
1995 based on THE WINE LOVER'S COMPANION,
by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst.
|
|
E-Mail 
Digg this!
del.icio.us
