Here’s a candidate for your rare grape series. I just read about it for the first time in a San Francisco Chronicle article - Pineau d’Aunis.

Thanks for all the great info on Dornfelder. I can’t wait to try one. Too bad WL can’t ship to Minnesota.

For all you rare grape fans, here are some more fun facts about Dornfelder:

Technically, Dornfelder is a cross as opposed to a hybrid – a cross being the mating of two varieties from the same species (in this case vitis vinifera, the European species most often used for wine), and a hybrid being the mating of two varieties from different species, such as vitis vinifera and the American vitis labrusca.

Dornfelder is named after the founder of Weinsberg, the viticultural school in Württemberg where August Herold was a prolific breeder.

Helfensteiner is a cross of Frühburgunder and Trollinger.

Heroldrebe is a cross of Portugieser and Limberger (Blaufränkisch).

Plantings of Dornfelder in Germany grew from 124 hectares (306 acres) in 1979, to 2,599 hectares (6,420 acres) in 1997. At that time, Dornfelder was Germany’s third most planted red grape after Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Portugieser.

Some Dornfelder crosses: Acolon – Dornfelder and Lemberger; Cabernet Dorsa – Dornfelder and Cabernet Sauvignon; Cabernet Dorio – Dornfelder and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Dornfelder is also grown in England, where it’s often blended with Pinot Noir, or used for rosé.

Prosit!