Grape Focus – The Rondo

The rondo grape is a major part of our vineyard and goes into the making of our ever popular Forest Hart Red Wine. Today we explore the history of this grape and how it has grown to become a staple of English and Northern European vineyards.

Back in 1964 the Rondo grape was created in Czechoslovakia by Professor Vilém Kraus by cross breeding varieties of the Zarya Severa and St. Laurent grapes. Further development of the grape occurred when Professor Kraus offered it to Dr. Hemlut Becker of the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute.

Formulated to be an early maturing grape with high resistance against winter frost and downy mildew – the Rondo has proved to be hardy grape and also seems to be impervious to wasp attacks! Commercial research was carried out on a larger scale in the mid 1980s at the Thomas Walk Vineyard in Ireland – at this time the grape went under the name of Amurensis Walk. This commercial research and trial proved a huge success and the grape was soon popping up in vineyards across Northern Europe, even as far north as Denmark and Sweden. The name Rondo was officially designated to the grape by the German Federal Office’s Varieties Register in 1997.

The Rondo grape produces a vivid ruby red wine that is full bodied that develops an intriguing complexity during the wine making process – it is well known for its taste of dark cherries and blackberries.

The Forest Hart Red that the Rondo produces pairs extremely well with roast meats and also cheeses such as our Smokewood Cheddar and 1912 Artisan Stilton – both of which can be found in our online shop.

Want to experience the taste of the Rondo for yourself? We currently have 2022 and 2024 vintages of our Forest Hart Red in our online shop – made exclusively with Rondo grapes from our vineyard. Make sure to grab some cheese and crackers to go with this fabulous wine, you will not regret it!