The Scheurebe Grape

Scheurebe is a white-wine grape originated in Germany in 1916 as a deliberate crossing of Riesling with another wine grape (now unknown) by viticilturist Dr. Georg Scheu, after whom the type is named (it is also commonly called Sämling 88—Seedling 88—from its designation in his experiments). The grape is now grown widely in Germany and Austria, to a much lesser extent in Switzerland, and to a small extent in parts of the new World: the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., and Western Australia.

Scheurebe wines bear some similarity to Riesling, but typically have a distinctly more intense flavor. A quotation widely repeated about “Scheu” (as it is informally and commonly called) is from noted importer Terry Theise:

As with any grape, Scheurebe needs to be treated well to produce its best wines. The chief common flaw is making the wine from under-ripe grapes. Like a number of white-wine grapes, the challenge in the vineyard is balancing ripeness (for flavor) with sugars (which determine alcohol content); Scheurebe, like most such grapes, is thus conveniently made into an off-dry or outright sweet wine by stopping fermentation before all the sugars are converted to alcohol (if they were, the alcohol content would be too high). Making a high-quality but dry Scheu is a challenge, but, when met, produces some thoroughly outstanding wines.

Typical descriptions of the better wines from Scheurebe include a definite grapefruit aroma and flavor, plus an overlay of black currant. The off-dry types also, unsurprisingly, exhibit a honeyed quality. It is, as noted, in many ways like Riesling but with more intensity.

Scheurebe’s planting acreage had been slowly declining, but that trend may now be reversing, owing to the gradual but definite shift in world tastes away from sweet wines and toward dry table wines. First-class dry Scheurebe is one of the world’s great white wines (and, like other high-acid whites, it can and will age very well).

Factoid: Scheurebe’s other parent was long thought to be Silvaner, but DNA analysis eliminated that possibility; it is possible that the unknown parent was a wild vine.

Some Descriptions of Scheurebe Wines

Wikipedia
“When produced from fully ripe grapes, Scheurebe wines are dominated by rich blackcurrant aromas supplemented by grapefruit. Well-made dry Scheurebe wines can be quite full-bodied, but dry wines made from not fully ripe grapes tend to be dominated by the grapefruit component, and display it in an aggressive manner which makes for a clumsy, unattractive wine. Scheurebe therefore tends to be easier to use for sweet wines made from grapes that are fully ripe, overripe or affected by noble rot. Well-made sweet Scheurebe wines can show intense aromas of blood grape and honey. It has been pointed out that Scheurebe retains quite a bit of Riesling character, although it is somewhat less acidic and can tend to be more clumsy. Just as Riesling, its wines tend to show terroir variation, and it has been called the single new breed variety of German origin that deserves serious attention for the quality of its wines.”
StarChefs
“Scheurebe wine yields grapefruit, sage, and cassis notes, with varying degrees of mineral, acid, and sugar. You can sometimes find aromas of lemongrass, passion fruit, and papaya, as well. It’s a beautiful pairing with Asian food and cheese, or just as a summer refresher…Bartholomew Broadbent, CEO of Broadbent Selections, explains: ‘It is a lovely wine, extremely appealing to the Riesling drinker who claims not to want to drink Riesling. Its biggest barrier is that the name is difficult to pronounce for the average consumer and it is little known. However, to the wine geek, this wine is an extremely exciting discovery.’”
Jancis Robinson
“If the site and weather are such that the grapes ripen fully the wine can taste most appetisingly of blackcurrants or even rich grapefruit. Some Pfalz producers are prouder of their ’Scheu’ than their Riesling. Acidity levels are very good, although the wines are unlikely to age as well as Riesling. Yields are not as high as most new crossings but the right site can yield BA and TBA wines as often as Nature obliges, and Spätlese trocken examples can also be very fine. Burgenland in Austria also produces some successful late picked examples from the variety, known here as Sämling 88.”
Wine Searcher
“It is most commonly produced as varietal white wine that may sit anywhere on the sweetness spectrum, from bone dry right through to lusciously sweet Trockenbeerenauslese…As a wine Scheurebe typically either displays blackcurrant and herbal flavors with a hint of citrus, or more obvious pink grapefruit, lemon and honeysuckle characteristics…In the vineyard Scheurebe is high yielding with slightly less acidity than Riesling. The best wines come from vines that have reached full maturity, as Scheurebe picked early can be quite unpleasant. It is an aromatic variety with good aging potential.”
Rheinhessen
“Wines from the Scheurebe grape are offered in all quality levels and styles. Especially young vintners like to make dry Scheurebe wines, using this variety to showcase their origins. Scheurebe wines are noted for their pronounced varietal bouquet and a harmonious combination of stimulating acidity and fine, fruity sweetness. The variety’s aroma is reminiscent of black currants (cassis), less frequently of mangos, tangerines, limes, peaches or very ripe pears. The noble sweet versions are noted for their long storage life and show an imposing peach or intense rose bouquet after several years.”
CellarNotes
“It makes wines that are crisp due to its lively acidity, very aromatic and are very fruity. Wines made from Scheurebe are often described as having a hint of blackberries in flavor.”
Wine Geeks
“Scheurebe, or Scheu as it often called, is one of the greatest and most successful of all the German hybrid grapes. It has the productivity of Silvaner, is resistant to frost and cold, and when fully ripe can produce lovely wines with a balance of fruit, sugars and acidity. Scheurebe can improve for many years in bottle and takes well to Noble Rot. Because it can grow on slightly less favorable sites than Riesling it is often less expensive, even in Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese form. Dry versions of Scheurebe are high in natural acidity and heavy with aromas and flavors of stone and citrus fruits, though it retains a high level of ripeness and therefore residual sugar.”
Your Wine IQ
“The best dry Scheurebes are flavor bombs, filled with aromas of deep, red-winey currant and, ideally, just the right amount of grapefruit. In bad vintages, though, Scheurebe can be too grapefruity, and so many producers often prefer to make sweet wines. Botrytized Scheurebe is among the sweet styles made from this grape; these examples often show strong honey flavors.”
Wines of Germany
“Its intense bouquet is reminiscent of black currant, peach or ripe pear. Scheurebe wines go very well with aromatic, spicy foods from appetizer to dessert.”
California Winery Advisory
“Scheurebe makes wines that are crisp due to its high acidity, very aromatic and are very fruity. Wines made from Scheurebe are often described as having a hint of blackberries. It is grown almost exclusively in Germany and represents less than 5% of the vines there. Small blocks of Scheurebe can be found in Napa Valley, Virginia, southern Ontario and on a very small scale in British Columbia. Scheurebe ripens in early October, but the late-harvested wines of this grape are those that are treasured most. Scheurebe wines have full body, pronounced acidity and a bouquet and taste reminiscent of black currants.”

Some Scheurebes to Try

Scheurebe has yet to catch on in the U.S. market. Though we found nearly a dozen and a half offerings, almost all were carried (at least as the wine search engines show) by very few shops, often but one. Moreover, what is out there is, um, not the cream of the crop. After much tedium, we identified the few candidate bottlings shown below, and one of those is a bit scarce and another a bit off-dry. But it is what there is for now. One can only hope that this fine variety soon or late does get some love here.

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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