Geilweilerhof

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Geilweilerhof
Geilweilerhof during almond blossom
Geilweilerhof at Siebeldingen, Germany
Former names	Calardiswilre, Geilwilre
General information
Status	Research Institute
Type	Government, formally part of Eusserthal Abbey
Town or city	Siebeldingen
Country	Germany
Coordinates	49°12′41″N 8°03′05″E ⧼validator-fatal-error⧽
Elevation	535 ft (163 m)
Current tenants	JKI

Geilweilerhof is a historic site at Siebeldingen in Rhineland-Palatinate, near city of Landau. It is the location of the Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof and the viticultural part of the Institute for Plant Protection in Fruit Crops and Viticulture. They are two of 17 specialized institutes of the Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI), the Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants in Germany and an autonomous superior federal authority in the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Germany).The domain was formerly owned by the Eusserthal Abbey.

Grapevine breeding

The main task of the institute is the breeding of new grape varieties adapted to the German cool climate wine growing regions with resistance to pests and other stress factors while maintaining high wine quality. The fungus-resistant new breeds Calandro, Calardis Blanc, Calardis Musqué, Felicia, Orion, Phoenix, Reberger, Regent, Sirius, Staufer and Villaris originate from this breeding work. With 1800 hectares of cultivation area (2018) Regent is the most successful fungus-resistant new breed to date in Germany. Traditional varieties without powdery mildew resistance are the white grape varieties Morio-Muscat, Bacchus and Optima as well as the red variety Domina.

The development of new grape varieties takes place via classic cross-breeding using molecular markers (precision breeding). This allows a targeted selection of the crossbreed parents, an early selection in the breeding material and the combination of several resistances. This significantly speeds up the lengthy breeding process. This is made possible through genetic mapping work and the development of new, trait-correlating markers with a focus on resistance and wine quality. Markers for various resistances against the main pests of the vine (powdery mildew, downy mildew and phylloxera) have been published from the work of the institute and are already used in the breeding process.

Grapevine collection at Geilweilerhof

The institute maintains the largest German grapevine collection and with 4565 accessions according to the VIVC (October 2021) the second largest worldwide. It aims to preserve and evaluate the genetic diversity of the grapevine and serves as source for breeding. A freely accessible vine trail through the collection supplemented with informative poster boards provides interesting information about cultivars, breeding, viticultural history and the tasks of the institute.

Several databases are maintained by the institute to provide information for the viticultural sector. The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is an extensive database of grape varieties. Information on around 23,000 Vitis species, grape varieties and breeding lines are listed. The Deutsche Genbank Reben manages the long-term and efficient protection of vine genetic resources in Germany to guarantee their preservation. Its European counterpart is the European Vitis database, which is also maintained by the institute. The international literature database Vitis-VEA is a bibliographical directory for the field of viticulture. It lists a large part of the extensive holdings of the institute's viticultural library. It also contains all full texts of the scientific open-access and free of charge journal "Vitis - Journal of Grapevine Research". Vitis publishes original scientific papers and critical reviews concerning grapevine biology, molecular biology, breeding, plant pathology, oenology and related fields.

An experimental wine cellar and a commercial wine cellar are available. The experimental wine cellar make wines in small volumes (micro vinification), starting with volumes produced by a single vine, while the commercial wine cellar processes grapes from further progressed breeding lines and varieties. This enables a qualitative check of the wines of new varieties in the various stages of development. The products of the commercal wine cellar can be purchased in the institute's own wine shop, which offers the opportunity to try breeding lines and new varieties.

When the JKI was founded, the viticulture research department of the Institute for Plant Protection in Fruit Crops and Viticulture was relocated from Bernkastel-Kues to the Geilweilerhof.

History of Geilweilerhof

The Geilweilerhof estate was formerly owned by the Eusserthal Abbey and is now a listed building. The Geilweilerhof was first mentioned in a document in 1184. During the Palatine Peasants' War, the monastery property was burned down and came into the hands of the Electorate of the Palatinate. When the Palatinate was under French administration after the French Revolution, the Geilweilerhof became a national property until it was auctioned off into private ownership. After several changes of ownership, August Ludowici, brick manufacturer, acquired the Geilweilerhof in 1895 and expanded it into a agrarian model property, including the striking tower. Since his three sons had died in the war, August Ludowici bequeathed the Geilweilerhof to the district government of the Palatinate in 1925 with the obligation for a vine growing and research station.

History of Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof

Geilweilerhof

The institute emerged from two research institutions founded independently in 1926. On the one hand from the grapevine breeding branch of the Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture, Fruit Growing and Horticulture (Bayerischen Landesanstalt für Wein-, Obst- und Gartenbau auf dem Geilweilerhof) founded by Peter Morio and located at the Geilweilerhof, on the other hand from the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institute for Breeding Research in Müncheberg under the direction of Erwin Bauer. Peter Morio began in 1926 to plant his crossed seedlings at the Geilweilerhof. The intraspecific new breeds Bacchus, Domina, Morio Muscat and Optima emerged from his work. The majority of his seedlings, however, formed interspecific crosses for resistance breeding. However, he had to stop this work in 1937 with the establishment of the "Reichsrebenzüchtung", during which resistance breeding was concentrated at the locations Müncheberg, Freiburg im Breisgau and Geisenheim. After the Second World War, Bernhard Husfeld founded the "Forschungsinstitut für Rebenzüchtung" and transferred the most important breeding lines from Müncheberg to Siebeldingen. The first breeding successes in Müncheberg were the cultivars Siegfriedrebe and Aris. Even if these varieties still showed certain viticultural inadequacies, including low yield and susceptibility to viruses, they were a breeding and scientific success, as they proved that resistance and quality can be combined.

1970 Gerhardt Alleweldt took over the management of the institute. He intensified research activities in particular on resistance to fungal diseases. The first grape varieties from his work were Castor and Pollux, which were granted plant variety protection in 1977, but in some years had an undesirable strawberry taste (Furaneol). Only one generation of breeding later it was possible to approve grape varieties suitable for viticulture with high resistance to mildew and good quality properties. These were the white varieties Calardis Musqué, Phoenix, Orion, Sirius and Staufer, as well as the red wine variety Regent. Regent is the most successful fungus-resistant new breed in Germany to date, which has also benefited from the red wine boom of the 80s Gerhardt Alleweldt then initiated a conference series, where leading scientist in the field of grapevine breeding and genetics meet at different winegrowing regions around the world. The first "International Symposium on Vine Breeding" took place in September 1973 at Geilweilerhof and developed over the years to the most important conference in the field of grapevine breeding and genetics. Further conferences were held in Bordeaux, Davis, Verona, Siebeldingen, Yalta, Montpellier, Kecskemet, Udine, Geneva, Beijing, and Bordeaux. The XIII. International Symposium on Grapevine Breeding and Genetics will again be hosted by Geilweilerhof and took place in the Jugendstil-Festhalle of Landau, an important Art Nouveau building financed with a domation of August Ludowici, the former owner of Geilweilerhof.

The institute is under the direction of Reinhard Töpfer since 1995. The varieties Calardis Blanc, Felicia, Villaris, Reberger and Calandro were developed together with the breeder Rudolf Eibach

Since 1972, the institute receives support for its scientific work from the Gemeinschaft der Förderer und Freunde des Instituts für Rebenzüchtung Geilweilerhof e.V.

Literature

• H. Hess; G. Alleweldt (1993). Der Geilweilerhof und das Institut für Rebenzuechtung (PDF) (in Deutsch). Gemeinschaft der Freunde und Förderer des Instituts für Rebenzüchtung Geilweilerhof e. V. Search this book on (1.9 MB)
• R. Töpfer; E. Maul; R. Eibach (2011). "Geschichte und Entwicklung der Rebenzüchtung auf dem Geilweilerhof" (PDF). Schriften zur Weingeschichte (in Deutsch). No. 172. Gesellschaft für Geschichte des Weines e. V. (1.8 MB)
• JKI, Institute for Grapevine Breeding booklet online (PDF; 1.2 MB)

External links

General

• Website of the Institute for Grapevine Breeding of the Julius Kühn Institute
• Literature database for viticulture and oenology
• Vitis International Variety Cataloque (VIVC) Database
• German Gene Bank Grapevines (Deutsche Genbank Reben)
• The European Vitis Database
• English-language journal VITIS - Journal of Grapevine Research
• Website of the Geilweilerhof Förderverein

Movies

• The Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof - Grapevine Breeding and Wine Research at the JKI, Image film of the Institute for Grapevine Breeding from JKI, Germany, January 19, 2017, 6:14 min., online video
• Viticulture in Germany, a video film by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), Germany, April 1, 2015, 6:02 min., online video

Newspaper

• Rheinpfalz, Mai 16, 2017
• Rheinpfalz, August 13, 2021
• Rheinpfalz, April 18, 2021
• Rheinpfalz, August 19, 2020

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