Grape variety
Räuschling
Räuschling: the old white grape of Lake Zürich, fresh and citrussy, nearly lost in the 20th century. Origin, character, where to find it and what to eat.
- Colour
- White
- Origin
- Old Upper Rhine variety, first mentioned in 1546; a natural cross of Gouais Blanc and Savagnin
- Grown in Switzerland
- About 30 hectares, nearly all on Lake Zürich and in canton Zürich
- Typical aromas
- Lemon, lime, green apple, white blossom
- Classic pairing
- Whitefish and perch from the lake, fried fish bites, quiche
- Synonym
- Zürirebe
Räuschling is the grape that once carried the Zürich vineyards almost on its own. It is not Swiss by origin but comes from the Upper Rhine: it is first mentioned in 1546 near Landau in the Palatinate and was widely planted in the 16th and 17th centuries in Württemberg, Alsace and northern Switzerland. Genetically it is thought to be a natural cross of Gouais Blanc and Savagnin, two varieties that covered half of medieval Europe and also stand behind Chardonnay, Riesling and many others. Its name is said to come from the rustling of its dense foliage in the wind.
In its homeland the variety has practically vanished. It survived on Lake Zürich, where it was the leading white grape until the 19th century, and in small plots in the cantons of St. Gallen and Schwyz. In the 20th century it nearly disappeared there too: its high acidity and modest yields made it unattractive next to the productive, early-ripening Müller-Thurgau, and by the 1980s only a few hectares were left. That there are about 30 hectares again today is thanks to a handful of stubborn growing families on the right bank of the lake, between Küsnacht, Meilen and Stäfa, who repositioned Räuschling as the Zürich speciality.
In the glass Räuschling is pale, light and crisp: lemon, lime, green apple and white blossom on the nose, on the palate a lively, sometimes razor-sharp acidity and a slender body, usually low in alcohol. Drunk young it is a wine for summer and for an apéro by the lake. The best sites also show that the grape can age: after a few years in bottle it picks up notes of honey and petrol and comes to resemble a mature Riesling.
Räuschling belongs with fish from the lake: whitefish or perch, fried fish bites, but also a quiche, puff pastry or seafood. Serve it well chilled, at 8 to 10 degrees.
To find it, look to the wine estates on Lake Zürich, the wine bars of the city and, here and there, the cantons of St. Gallen, Schwyz and Schaffhausen, where a few growers also tend Räuschling. It now belongs to every tasting of Zürich varieties, and anyone who compares it with a Müller-Thurgau understands in one sip why it nearly vanished and why it came back.