The white grape variety (also Geisenheim 22-73) is a new cross between Müller-Thurgau x Chasselas Blanc according to DNA analyses published in 2012. The crossing of two Riesling clones stated in the breeding list turned out to be wrong. It was named after the archbishop and scholar Rabanus Maurus (780-856) from Mainz. It was crossed in 1939 by the breeder Heinrich Birk (1898-1973) at the Geisenheim Research Institute (Rheingau). It is grown in small quantities in Baden-Württemberg, but no stock was recorded in 2016 (Kym Anderson).
Pictures: Ursula Brühl, Doris Schneider, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)
For my many years of work as an editor with a wine and culinary focus, I always like to inform myself about special questions at Wine lexicon. Spontaneous reading and following links often leads to exciting discoveries in the wide world of wine.
Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien