The red grape variety is a new cross between an open-pollinated white seedling of the Herbemont (possibly Herbemont Blanc) x Jacquez variety. The parent variety, long considered unknown, was found in Cape Town, South Africa, according to a DNA analysis carried out by Dr Jeronimo Rodrigues (PhD Biochemistry, UCT) in 2021. However, this is based on only 12 DNA markers (see Molecular Genetics). Genes from Vitis aestivalis, Vitis bourquina, Vitis cinerea and Vitis vinifera are included. The hybrid was crossed between 1885 and 1890 in Denison-Texas (USA) by the botanist Thomas Volney Munson (1843-1903). A vine from the 1950s can be found at the ARC Nietvoorbij Institute for Viticulture and Oenology, near Stellenbosch in South Africa. There, the variety has long been used as a rootstock due to its phylloxera resistance. No stocks were reported in 2016 (Kym Anderson statistics).
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