Regent is a dark-skinned hybrid variety created by the crossing of Diana (Müller-Thurgau and Sylvaner) with Chambourcin - an American interspecific grape of complicated lineage. Relatively easy to cultivate, Regent can produce excellent, moderately acidic wines with full body and rich colour.
About
Created in Germany in the late nineteen-sixties and released for cultivation in the mid-nineteen-nineties, the grape was produced with the aim of establishing an age-worthy, deep-red variety that could flourish in cooler climates and is largely resistant to common viticultural hazards. The resultant grape thrives on a variety of soils so long as the drainage is good, produces relatively high yields and resists most fungal disease, making it a good choice for producers of organic wines. Today, the Regent grape variety is grown across various German regions, most notably Rheinhessen and Palatinate (Pfalz) - from where it originates. Small amounts are also cultivated and vinified - as both mono-varietal and blend - in a number of appellations within the German Speaking region of Switzerland, in the United Kingdom and unsurprisingly given its heritage, in some of the cooler-climate states of America. Named after the Regent Diamond - a one-hundred-and-forty-one carat jewel housed in the Louvre in Paris, the grape was originally used to add colour to red blends. However, in recent years, mono-varietal Regent wines have begun to emerge with the best examples being oak-aged versions from Germany.
