Rondo
Not afraid of Jack Frost
The red Rondo grape belongs to the “PIWIs”, the fungus-resistant varieties. These are varieties in which one of the two crossing partners is of non-European descent. Indeed, unlike the European Vitis vinifera vine class, from other continents are resistant to fungal diseases such as powdery or downy mildew. Such crosses are also called hybrids. In the case of the Rondo, the wild Asiatic grape used is also frost-resistant – a boon for vintners in very northerly wine cultivation countries like England, Belgium, the Netherlands or Denmark. The Rondo was bred in former Czechoslovakia in 1964, and further developed in Germany. It occupies the largest cultivation area today in Great Britain. Glossy red with dark fruit and soft body, it is well-suited for aging in French oak casks.
