The red grape variety (also known as Blauer Kilianer, Kilianer) originates from Germany. The name was probably given after the wine saint Kilian (patron saint of winegrowers in Franconia).
It originates from an interspecific, presumably natural cross between (Vitis riparia x Vitis labrusca) x unknown parent variety. The hybrid travelled from Erfurt (Thuringia) to the Palatinate, where it was propagated around the town of Speyer in 1883 by the gardener Kilian Vonderschmitt (Vonderschmied in other sources).
The vine is resistant to phylloxera as well as powdery and downy mildew. It produces simple, acid-accentuated wines, which are popularly known as Mops or Rambas.
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