Kerner

Kerner is an aromatic white wine grape, a German crossing of the red Trollinger (Schiava) and white Riesling that has become a quietly beloved fixture of cool-climate viticulture. It shows an unmistakably Riesling-like face — bright citrus and delicate white flowers over crisp, mouth-watering acidity — but carries a signature all its own: a faint, almost peppery hint of nutmeg on the nose and finish. Reliable, frost-hardy and generous in the vineyard, it makes fresh, food-friendly dry and off-dry wines of modest alcohol, usually around 11 to 12 percent. Long a workhorse of German whites, it has found real prestige in the Alpine terraces of Alto Adige and a devoted following in Japan, where it thrives in the cool north.