Dornfelder - Germany's Red Varietal - An Introduction

According to Exploring Wines and Spirits, the textbook used for advanced studies at the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (London, 2003 ed.), "This is a recent arrival on the scene, having been created in 1956, and currently accounts for only 1% of [Germany's] planting.  The Dornfelder grape has a red-coloured flesh and as a result produces wines which are deep in colour for German red wines.  It is perceived to have great potential."  That potential will be explored in another publication when we look at California Dornfelder from German vines.  Dornfelder also has a very interesting history worth reading.

www.rheinhessen.de

The grapes are dark skinned and large.  They are often even ripening and resilient.  The vines can reach depths of 6 to 7 feet deep and now thrive around the world.

The first video has some age to it (2006 tasting of a 2000 Dornfelder) - Gary V's first Dornfelder from Germany.  It's a little whimsical but the tasting really begins around 2:25 into the video.   And for our German speakers, we're including a vintners' description of the varietal from Germany.