Despite the huge territory losses after the Congress of Vienna, viticulture was responsible for prosperity in the Luxembourgian villages in the Moselle valley. The size of the viticulture area varied in the past: in 1865 it had an extent of only 875 ha which increased until the beginning of the 20th century to 1547 ha (Denkschrift, 1911). Today the area has receded to 1299 ha (Weinjahr, 2006). In addition, the regional distribution of vineyards has changed since 1911 (Figure 3.1). Nowadays vineyards are situated closer to the Moselle river and the largest areas are found in the southern part of the Luxembourgian Moselle region.
Under the terms of law only few vine varieties are allowed for wine production in Luxembourg (Mémorial A, Nº 73):
• Auxerrois ()
• Chardonnay
• Dakapo
• Elbling ()
• Gamay
• Gewürztraminer ()
• Muscat Ottonel
• Pinot Blanc ()
• Pinot Gris ()
• Pinot Noir
• Pinot Noir précoce
• Riesling ()
• Rivaner ()
• Saint Laurent
• Silvaner
Other vine varieties are cultivated only for scientific purpose. The varieties marked by a leaf () - all are white wine varieties - are the most important and mainly investigated in this work.
The areal extensions of the cultivated vine varieties are shown in Figure 3.2 for three years, 20 years apart (1966, 1986 and 2006). Rivaner is the dominant vine sort for all periods. It is followed by Elbling in the earlier years. The cultivation of Elbling has decreased over the years and becomes comparable to the other vine varieties, except for Traminer whose cultivation area is very small. The bar “other”
is very high in 2006 because of Pinot Noir, which was first cultivated in the early 1990s. This variety will not be considered in the further evaluations.
27
6 6.2 6.4 6.6
49.45 49.5 49.55 49.6 49.65 49.7 49.75 49.8 49.85 49.9 49.95
Luxembourg
Schengen Remich
Grevenmacher Vianden
France
Germany 1911
6 6.2 6.4 6.6
49.45 49.5 49.55 49.6 49.65 49.7 49.75 49.8 49.85 49.9 49.95
Luxembourg
Schengen Remich
Grevenmacher Vianden
France
Germany
2004 Area (ha)
<10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 250
>250
Figure 3.1: Distribution of the vineyards in the years 1911 (left) and 2004 (right).
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Auxerrois Elbling
Pinot blanc Pinot gris Riesling Rivaner Traminer other
Percentage of the whole area (%)
1966 1986 2006
Figure 3.2: The cultivated vine varieties and their areal fractions for three different years. (Data source: Weinjahr, 1966-2006)
In the following, the selected vine varieties are presented. The main characteris-tics given by Bundessortenamt (2008) are summarised in Table 3.1.
Auxerrois The Auxerrois variety is a crossbreeding between Pinot and Gouais Blanc and seems to come from France. The flowering date is somewhat later than for Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Riesling. This variety has a low flowering firm-ness and is sensitive to spring frosts; therefore the cultivation site should be wind protected. The thin skin makes Auxerrois vulnerable to fungal infections but the grape is loose, thus the overall risk is comparable to other varieties. Must den-sity is intermediate (comparable to Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Riesling), however acidity is lowest compared to other cultivated varieties. The yield is low, which explains e.g. why this variety is not widely spread in Germany (only 0.3 % of the
28 Chapter 3. Viticulture in the Upper Moselle region area of cultivated white wine varieties (Deutsches Weininstitut, 2010)). The yield is below 60 hl/ha on average and largely fluctuating from year to year (Hillebrand et al., 2003).
Elbling Elbling is a crossbreed between Gouais Blanc, Vitis silvestris and Traminer.
It is a very old variety, probably brought to the Moselle region by the Romans, but it could have also been present in this region earlier (Hillebrand et al., 2003).
Elbling was widely spread over France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Germany.
Nowadays it is mainly found in Lorraine, Luxembourg and the German Moselle region. Flowering is late which protects the vine against late frost periods. The literature is inconsistent concerning blossom drop and ripening time. The Bun-dessortenamt (2008) indicates a low risk for blossom drop and a late ripening time, while Hillebrand et al. (2003) and Robinson (1995) note a high blossom drop and a very early ripening period. The yield is above 100 hl/ha, often it is around 200 hl/ha. The grapes are very compact, the skin thin, and thus the risk for fungal diseases is very high (e.g., peronospora, oidium). Must density is lowest compared to other varieties and acidity is intermediate. Elbling is very suitable for the production of sparkling wine blended with other varieties, or nowadays also used genuine.
Pinot Gris or Ruländer Pinot Gris is a mutation of Pinot Noir, and sometimes there are red and white grapes on the same vine. Similar to Pinot Blanc the must density must be above 80 °Oe for quality wines, thus the cultivation site must be favourable. Pinot gris is very frost resistant during winter but less during springtime. It is not too sensitive against fungal diseases, despite the compactness of the grapes. Pinot Gris is also very resistive against bunch rot, therefore it is possible to harvest very late and it is suitable for vendanges tardives or vin de
glace. The ripening period is late and the yield is relatively high with 80-120 hl/ha.
Pinot Blanc Pinot Blanc is a mutation of Pinot Gris. Flowering occurs at the same time as Riesling thus intermediate compared to the other varieties. Blossom firmness is high, so the risk of blossom drop is very low. The ripening period has an average length. The grapes are compact; nevertheless Pinot Blanc is resistant against fungal diseases, but sensitive to grape moth. For a quality wine, the must density must exceed 80 °Oe; accordingly the site must be favourable and harvest should be late.
Riesling Riesling variety is a cross breeding of Gouais Blanc and an unknown variety. A long ripening period is necessary, thus full maturation is only achieved for warm sites. The vine is mainly cultivated on southwest to southeast exposed sites.The flowering period is similar to Pinot, while the ripening period is the latest of all seven investigated varieties. Riesling is not excessively vulnerable against fungal diseases but bunch rot may occur. Must density is moderate, the high
29 Table 3.1: Summary of the characteristics of the investigated vine varieties. Clas-sification from Bundessortenamt (2008) with 1 low/early to 9 high/late. The blue and red marked values are the lowest and highest values for each characteristic.
Aux Elb PiB PiG Rie Riv Tra
Budburst date 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Flowering date 6 6 5 5 5 4 6
Blossom drop 4 3 2 3 3 3 3
Beginning of ripening 5 6 6 6 8 5 7
Grape density 4 7 7 7 6 6 6
Peronospora 4 6 3 3 3 7 3
Oidium 4 7 3 4 4 5 4
Botrytis 5 7 4 5 4 5 3
Must density 6 4 6 6 6 5 7
Acidity 3 6 5 5 7 4 4
Yield 4 7 5 5 5 7 4
Sensitivity to winter frost 5 5 5 4 3 6 3
acidity is a characteristic for Riesling wine and varies depending on the site. The yield is stable from year to year but relatively low (60-110 hl/ha). Riesling has a good lignification and is highly frost resistant. The vine survives frosts down to -20 ℃ to -25 ℃, provided a not too wet soil.
Rivaner The Rivaner, also known by the name Müller Thurgau, is a cross breed-ing between Rieslbreed-ing and Madelaine Royale; for a long time erroneously a cross between Riesling and Silvaner was supposed. Rivaner is early flowering and ripen-ing, quite sensitive against drought, and has poor lignification. After moderately cold winters some vine plants may not survive. After short, very cold periods, whole vineyards may be destroyed. Rivaner is vulnerable to fungal diseases espe-cially peronospora and has to be harvested before full maturation in case weather conditions are favourable to fungal dispersion. The advantages of Rivaner are high yields of 100-150 hl/ha due to high flowering firmness and very fertile secondary buds. Must density decreases, however, if the yield is very high. Acidity is generally low, and in favourable years it may also become too low.
Traminer The origin of Traminer - a variety for high quality wine - is unknown.
Site requirements are very high; wind protection is a prerequisite and the soil must be profound and able to accumulate heat. One of the disadvantages is its sensitivity to chlorosis. Lignification is high and susceptibility to winter or spring frost is low because bud burst and especially flowering occur late. The secondary buds are infertile. Traminer is insensitive to fungal diseases, except when vines are planted too close. Must density is the highest compared to the other varieties while acidity is very low. The yield is very low with about 50 hl/ha.
30 Chapter 3. Viticulture in the Upper Moselle region