The Dornfelder Grape

Dornfelder is a red-wine grape originating in 1956 at the Weinsberg Research Center in Germany as a deliberate cross made in trying to develop a useful red-wine grape. The new grape—formally introduced in 1980—has been one of the few modern deliberate crosses to rapidly achieve substantial acceptance; there are now over 20,000 acres of it being grown in Germany, plus some in other nations (such as Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and even parts of the U.S.).

Dornfelder produces rich, dark, smooth wines that feel as if they always wanted to be a bit off dry when they grew up, but which are not. As with many grape varieties, vine production needs to be carefully held in check for best results. Better-made examples can benefit from some aging in oak. The aromas are somewhat floral. The quite dark color of the wine is especially prized in Germany, because almost all other red-wine grapes grown there are fairly light in color.

Dornfelder is a variety that can be quite rewarding, but as with many less-well-known varieties, one has to take care not to get a mistaken impression of it from the large number of cheap or otherwise unrepresentative samples out there. Mind, those who quite like sweet wines will probably take to those unrepresentative bottlings, whose chief characteristic is just that: sweetness (our notes on one tasting say “Basically a Sangria”) But if you look out (as we note again farther down the page) for bottlings that are labelled Trocken or its English equivalent, “Dry”, you can find some delightful examples of a distinctive and satisfying wine.

Factoid: Dornfelder is named after one of the 19th century founders of the Weinsberg Center where the variety was created.

Some Descriptions of Dornfelder Wines

Wikipedia
“Dornfelder has a depth of color, good acidity and the ability to benefit from barrique aging and the associated oak flavours…Higher-quality Dornfelder wines are velvety textured, slightly floral, often show flavours of plums, blackberries or cherries, and are typically oaked. Sometimes the wines have a hint of sweetness…Dornfelder tends to produce deeply colored red wines that can have a soft, rich texture in the mouthfeel. The wine usually have a fair amount of acidity with some examples showing floral aroma notes. The overall quality of the wines produced from Dornfelder tend to be dependent on harvest yields with wines produced from lower yields being more likely to have the concentration of fruit needed to complement a period of oak aging that can add more body and complexity to the wine.”
Wine Searcher
“The best examples use oak aging, making the most of Dornfelder’s ability to take on the additional textures and spice imparted by the barrique process. It is commonly made in a trocken (dry) style and is often blended with Germany’s most renowned red grape variety, Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir). The grape has deep red flesh and produces wines that are rich in pigment and often display a slightly floral character.”
James Laube, Wine Spectator
“It's a dark-colored, firm, intense and spicy wine…[a tasted example] was very dark, almost black in color, with complex, almost clashing aromas of mulling spices, fruitcake, incense, marmalade, and zesty tart huckleberry and wild berry…the more we tried it the more we liked its depth, concentration, focus and complexity…the earthy must, black fruit, forest herbs and hints of blackberry jam, dark plum and spicy hints of clove give it an enticing range of flavors.”
World’s Best Wines
“It is known for its intense and deep color, acidity, aging properties and oak flavors…The blend of rick oak flavor with a hint of plum, cherry or blackberry flavor is something that a wine lover goes gaga over.”
Wine Paradigm
“Most Dornfelder is easy going, everyday red wine that is light in body, with low tannins and crisp acidity (note: while the majority are dry some are made off-dry). Aromas of bramble and red fruits lead to flavors of fresh cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant and plum. In this Fruity style Dornfelder is very approachable, with a youthful fruit character, much like young Beaujolais (see Gamay grape variety in the Fruity style). Some producers however have opted to reduce yields and produce bigger, full bodied wines that are fermented and / or aged in oak to increase the wines’ tannin and structure. These bigger, Smooth style, wines have a great deal more substance and depth.”
Wein-Plus
“It produces dark-colored, fruity red wines with velvety tannins, moderate acidity and aromas of sour cherries, as well as storage potential.”
Vino Vidi
“This variety produces mainly dry red wines, partly also aged as semi-dry. There are two different types of breeding. The first one highlights the intense aromas of fruit, such as cherry, blackberry and elderberry, and is sold young. The new crop can be bought partly as a primeur. Other winegrowers raise the Dornfelder in large or small barrels, underline the tannins and structure of the wine, reducing fruit aromas. In most cases these are tasty, soft and harmonious wines.”
Winegeeks
“ Dornfelders have medium to high levels of acidity, take well to oak and can benefit from bottle aging. Aromas and flavors of black raspberries, currants and touches of sweet spices are common.”

Some Dornfelders to Try

Dornfelder does not get a lot of love from professional wine critics. Granted, a lot of the bottlings are icky-sweet plonk; yet there are decent dry versions. They, however, seem all tarred by the brush of “Dornfelder = junk”, which is unfair. I don’t suppose the variety’s best friends (which includes us) would ever say it makes truly great wine—but it can and does, in the right hands, make pleasant, civilized drinking.

Very, very few good specimens can be found in the U.S. retail market, and all but one are not notably available. That one we list below.

For a Splurge

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This page was last modified on Saturday, 30 October 2021, at 11:26 pm Pacific Time.

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