Souvignier gris

Souvignier gris is a white German wine grape variety that was created in 1983 by Dr. Norbert Becker. It is a cross between Seyval blanc and Zähringer, but was originally thought to be a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Bronner.

History and lineage

Souvignier gris was developed in 1983 at the viticultural research institute of Freiburg, Germany, and DNA analysis has shown it to be a cross between Seyval Blanc and Zähringer.^[1]

Originally reported lineage

Souvignier gris was originally incorrectly registered as a cross between the red French wine grape variety Cabernet Sauvignon and the white German grape crossing previously created by Becker known as Bronner.^[2]

Bronner was also developed by Becker in 1975 at the viticultural research institute of Freiburg, and is a crossing of the hybrid varieties Merzling (mother vine) and Geisenheim 6494 (father vine).^[3] Geisenheim 6494 is a crossing of Zarya Severa with St. Laurent while Zähringer is a crossing between Gewürztraminer and Riesling.^[4][5]

The other supposed parent, Cabernet Sauvignon, would have made Souvignier gris a grandchild variety of the white variety Sauvignon blanc and the red variety Cabernet Franc.^[6]

Synonyms

As a relatively recently created grape crossing, Souvignier gris is not known under many other names with only the breeding codes FR 392-83 and Freiburg 392-83 being listed as officially recognized synonyms by the Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC).^[1]

References