Helfensteiner
Encyclopedia
Helfensteiner is a dark-skinned German wine
German wine
German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Roman era. Approximately 60 percent of the German wine production is situated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where 6 of the 13 regions ...

 grape crossing of the species Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....

, that was created in 1931 with the crossing of Frühburgunder (Pinot Précoce Noir) and Trollinger
Trollinger
Trollinger is a light-red, late-maturing wine grape variety that was originally cultivated in the wine regions of South Tyrol and Trentino.It probably reached the southern regions of Germany during Roman times...

 (Schiava Grossa). It was created by August Herold
August Herold
August Karl Herold born August 7, 1902 in Neckarsulm, died there January 8, 1973, was a German grape breeder.Herold graduated from the Agricultural College Hohenheim in 1925, worked at a grape breeding station in Naumburg 1926-1928 and in 1928 became the head of a grape breeding station in...

 at the grape breeding institute in Weinsberg
Weinsberg
Weinsberg is a town in the north of the German state Baden-Württemberg. It was founded ca. 1200 and is situated in the Heilbronn district. The town has about 11,800 inhabitants. It is noted for its wine...

 in the Württemberg
Württemberg (wine region)
Württemberg is a region for quality wine in Germany, and is located in the historical region of Württemberg in southwestern Germany, which today forms part of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. Under German wine legislation, Württemberg and Baden are separate wine regions.With under vine in...

 region.

The name of the variety is derived from that of the castle ruin Helfenstein
Ruine Helfenstein
Helfenstein Castle represents the remnants of the fortified castle Helfenstein of the counts of Helfenstein located above the city of Geislingen an der Steige, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-History:...

 close to Geislingen an der Steige
Geislingen an der Steige
Geislingen an der Steige is a town in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.-History:Although the area had settlements since the Bronze Age, Geislingen was founded by the counts of Helfenstein as a transit collection station on the important commercial route between the...

.

A relatively small amount of Helfensteiner is cultivated in Württemberg, 19 hectares (46.9 acre) in 2008 (and less than 1 ha in the rest of Germany combined). It produces red wines of a fruity character, and rosé wines. The reason for the variety's limited popularity with growers is its very variable yield, which is due to its susceptibility to flowering problems.

Helfensteiner was later, in 1955, crossed by Herold with Heroldrebe
Heroldrebe
Heroldrebe is a red German wine grape variety produced by crossing Blauer Portugieser and Lemberger. It was created by August Herold at the grape breeding institute in Weinsberg in the Württemberg region in 1929, and was named after him....

 to produce the much more successful Dornfelder
Dornfelder
Dornfelder is a dark-skinned variety of grape of German origin used for red wine. It was created by August Herold at the grape breeding institute in Weinsberg in the Württemberg region in 1955. Herold crossed the grape varieties Helfensteiner and Heroldrebe, the latter which bears his name, to...

. The variety Hegel shares the same parentage as Dornfelder.

Synonyms

Helfensteiner is also known under its breeding code Weinsberg S 5332 and the synonyms Blauer Weinsberger and Helfensteyner.
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