Up to 1980 this grape variety was blamed tirelessly for the production of flat and off-dry Blanc wine in Germany.

In this case, however the creator’s name was Dr. Müller who created Muller Thurgau by mixing certain specific genes from Riesling grape and Silvaner grape varieties.

And just like in present days the legends of the Frankenstein monster forms a gripping tale and has become famous so is the case with Muller Thurgau.

In recent times this grape variety has become the most famous among all the other hybrid grape varieties which are often referred to as the new breeds.

This new breed is a white grape variety that was developed by Dr. Muller in 1882. Grown primarily in Germany the other regions where these vines are grown are Austria, England, Hungary, Northern Italy, Australia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Japan, the Czech Republic and the United states.

This variety is known by a number of different names in different regions some of them being Miler Turgau, Müllerka, Müller, Mullerovo, Riesling-Sylvamer, Rivaner, Rizlingsilvani, Rizvanac Bijeli, Rizvaner etc.

History of Müller Thurgau Grapes

As is the usual reason, the parent vines Riesling and Silvaner were crossed to produce a new variety that would possess the best attribute of both the parent species.

The crossing was done by Dr. Muller at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute. Dr. Muller wanted Muller Thurgau to inherit and possess the complexity and vigour of Riesling grapes and the early ripening ability of the Silvaner grapes.

Although the desired results were not obtained yet the new variety so developed became one of the most planted and dominant grape varieties in all the German vineyards.

In the late 20th century, this variety gained widespread popularity due to its ability to grow on any type of soil and to adjust to any climatic condition. Due to this ability of the varietal to adapt easily to its environment Muller Thurgau was often planted in the flat regions where it was not possible to grow any other vines.

This proved to be profitable because the alternate plant, sugar beet, that was planted on these flat lands did not have very high profit margin. Another reason for their success was that they were an early ripening variety and had large yields and were less trying and demanding than the other vine varieties.

However, the winter of 1979 proved to be a turning point in the destiny of these grapes. On January 1st the temperatures fell as low as -7°C which caused a mass destruction of these vines. However, it has revived its significance again.

Wines with Müller Thurgau grapes

Viticulture and Wine Making for Müller Thurgau

Muller Thurgau is the second most widely cultivated varietals in Germany and covers an area of about 40,000 acres of land makes up for one-fifth of the total German vineyards.

This is an early ripening variety and ripens usually during late September. Muller is a very low demanding variety and does not require bright sunny weather or large amounts of precipitation nor well drained soils.

They generally thrive best on the east facing slopes of the vineyards which are at a height of 550-650m above the sea level and have calcareous soils.

The grapes are carefully picked and de-stemming of the ripe and healthy grapes is done. The grapes are slowly pressed to extract the must.

They are then allowed to undergo fermentation by the process of natural staying in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 16°C. They are then allowed to age for 4 months on fine lees.

A photo posted by Sara Debiasi (@sara.debiasi) on Oct 30, 2016 at 10:59am PDT

Food pairings with Müller Thurgau wine

Tasting best when served at a temperature of 10°-12°C they can be paired with Montassio Cheese onion tart mushrooms with coconut, lime leaf, ginger and lemongrass etc. It serves as an excellent aperitif.

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