white grape · regional specialty
Bacchus
Siebeldingen, Germany
Say it
bakh·oos
The ch is the German ch as in Bach, not a k or sh.
On the palate
How you spot it blind: elderflower with a muscat-like perfume rather than Sauvignon's green bite
The story
First written down · 1933, Siebeldingen, Germany
Bacchus was bred in 1933 at the Geilweilerhof institute in Siebeldingen by Peter Morio and Bernhard Husfeld from (Silvaner x Riesling) crossed with Müller-Thurgau. It was entered in the German varietal list in 1972 and boomed in the 1970s and 1980s, peaking at 3.6 percent of German vineyards in 1985. Plantings later declined in Germany while the grape found a role in England, where the cool climate preserves acidity.
Family tree: (Silvaner × Riesling) × Müller-Thurgau
Where it lives
Rheinhessen, Germany · Franconia, Germany · Pfalz, Germany · England, United Kingdom