White grape variety
Scheurebe
An aromatic German crossing with a pronounced grapefruit and blackcurrant character.
What is Scheurebe?
Scheurebe is strongly aromatic — grapefruit and blackcurrant leaf above all — and makes both dry and outstanding botrytised sweet wines.
Bred by Georg Scheu in 1916, crossing Riesling with an unidentified wild vine.
The Vitis International Variety Catalogue, maintained by the Julius Kühn Institute, holds this variety as accession 10818 under the prime name SCHEUREBE, with berry skin colour blanc and country of origin germany, and the pedigree "SILVANER X RIESLING". Checked 2026-08-17.
What it tastes like
This is the envelope across every expression of Scheurebe, not a description of one bottle. Wide ranges are the honest answer.
| Dimension | Typical | Range | Variation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetness | medium | Highly variable | |
| Acidity | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Alcohol | medium | Some variation | |
| Body | medium | Some variation | |
| Fruit intensity | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Aromatic intensity | high | Some variation | |
| Oak influence | low | Consistent | |
| Savoury character | low-medium | Consistent | |
| Floral character | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Herbal / green character | low | Consistent | |
| Spice | low | Consistent | |
| Earthy character | low | Consistent | |
| Perceived freshness | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Texture | medium | Consistent |
Common flavours
Wines made from it
The same grape in different places and different hands. These are where the wide ranges above resolve into something specific.
Where it grows
- Pfalz — Germany
- Rheinhessen — Germany
If you like Scheurebe, try…
Every suggestion says why it is connected and what will be different.
Closest matches
What is most like this?
Sauvignon Blanc
Shared grapefruit and blackcurrant-leaf aromatics.
Drier and more herbaceous.
Kerner
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be more neutral and subtle, and drier.
Pfalz Riesling
Both are made from scheurebe, and they occupy similar territory for weight and structure, both come from the same country.
Expect it to be less floral, and more oaky.
Similar but lighter
Something like this, but lighter?
Riesling
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be leaner and more cutting, and fresher and more acidic.
Mosel Riesling
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be lighter, and lighter in alcohol.
Kabinett
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be lighter, and more neutral and subtle.
Similar but lower in alcohol
Something like this, but less alcoholic?
Spätlese
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be fresher and more acidic, and more neutral and subtle.
Riesling
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be lighter, and leaner and more cutting.
Mosel Riesling
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be lighter, and lighter in alcohol.
Similar but fuller
Something like this, but richer?
Pfalz Riesling
Both are made from scheurebe, and the structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, both come from the same country.
Expect it to be less floral, and more oaky.
Muscat of Alexandria
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be softer and rounder, and broader and softer.
Vidal
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be less floral, and more neutral and subtle.
What to eat with it
Ranked by WineHQ's pairing engine, which reasons from the structure of the dish.
Fillet steak
Works because the finished dish, not the raw ingredient, sets the target.
Salmon
Works because the dish is rich, and acidity cuts through fat and refreshes the palate.
Asparagus
Works because bitterness in the dish and tannin in the wine accumulate rather than balance.
Salmon in a cream sauce
Works because the dish is rich, and acidity cuts through fat and refreshes the palate.
Trout
Works because low tannin avoids the metallic interaction with fish.
Turkey
Works because the finished dish, not the raw ingredient, sets the target.
How to serve it
Temperature
9–12°C
48–54°F · Fridge cold
From a 20°C room, roughly two to three hours in the fridge, or about 20 minutes in a bucket of ice and water.
Decanting
No need to decant
Nothing about this wine suggests it needs decanting. Light, aromatic and sparkling wines generally lose more than they gain.
Glass
Universal wine glass
A medium tulip-shaped glass handles almost everything well. If you own one set of glasses, this is the set to own — the difference between a good universal glass and a grape-specific one is far smaller than the difference between a good glass and a bad one.
Ageing
This grape is made into wines so different that ageing has no single answer.
Made dry, it is an intensely aromatic grapefruit-and-blackcurrant wine best drunk young while that aroma is vivid. Made as an Auslese or Beerenauslese it is one of the great German sweet wines and lasts for decades.
Family tree
Established by DNA analysis. Ampelography alone could not have found these relationships.
Parents
Sources
Sources consulted
- Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) — Julius Kühn-Institut, Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof
- Deutsches Weininstitut (German Wine Institute) — DWI