St. Laurent (grape)

St. Laurent (synonyms: "Saint Laurent, Pinot Saint Laurent, Laurenzitraube, Svatovavřinecké") is a highly aromatic dark wine grape of the same family as Pinot Noir, originating in France.

Migration

St. Laurent originated around the middle of the 19th century when the German pharmacist and viticulture pioneer Johann Philipp Bronner imported it from France to Germany. From there, the grape variety spread to neighbouring countries; it is still planted quite frequently in Austria and the Czech Republic. However, the variety had become almost extinct in Germany by the 1950s, with only 27 hectares remaining. With the renaissance of red wine in Germany towards the end of the 20th century, it is now being planted increasingly in the Palatinate (Pfalz) and Rheinhessen German wine regions.

Quality

The quality of wine produced from St. Laurent is said to lie between the undemanding Portugieser and the higher-quality but more demanding (from a viticultural point of view) Pinot Noir from which it probably partly descends. Its berries are less thin-skinned and thus not as suspectible to injuries as Pinot Noir's. It products a medium-bodied wine with aromas of forest berries and black cherries.

Name

The name of the grape variety possibly arose from the fact that the berries typically reach veraison around the 10th of August, known as Laurenzitag in German, or "St. Laurent's Day." It is unlikely that the municipality of Saint Laurent in the Médoc had anything to do with the grape's naming.