Riesling B
French appellation
Riesling b
Use
Wine grape variety
Phenology
Time of budburst: same as Chasselas.
Grape maturity: early-season, 1 week after Chasselas.
Technological potential
Riesling grapevine is a rare early-ripening French variety known for its low vigor, good yields, and delicate, balanced white wines. The grapes and berries are small. The Riesling B makes it possible to produce dry white wines of great quality, very aromatic, lively and elegant. The acid balance of these wines is high. They can be kept and their bouquet evolves slowly towards “petroleum” aromas (hydrocarbons). Riesling B, when overripe or in the presence of noble rot, can give great sweet wines.
Cultural and agronomic skills
Riesling has good resistance to winter cold andits fruitfulness after spring frost is good. This variety must be pruned long and trained. It is a little sensitive to dessication of the stems. Its ideal terroirs are varied (limestone, granite) but are mainly made up of schist. Riesling is sensitive to grey rot, anthracnose and grape moths. Under certain conditions, grey rot attacks on the peduncles can lead to early grape drop.
Elements of description
Identification calls for:
- the tip of the young twig with a high density of recumbent hairs,
- the young leaves yellow in color with slightly tan patches,
- the twig with red or red-striped internodes,
- the adult orbicular leaves with five (or seven) lobes with an overlapping lobed petiolar sinus, deep lateral sinuses with a U-shaped base, medium teeth with convex or straight sides, weak to medium anthocyanic pigmentation of the veins, a slightly embossed leaf blade and on the lower side, a medium density of erect hairs and a low density of flattened hairs,
- to the berries which are slightly flattened in shape.