How lucky for us! During our visit to Vineland Estates Winery with our group of winners from the contest we held, The Wine Ladies VIP Niagara Icewine Tour, Brian Schmidt walks in! The results are a vey interesting conversation about Riesling Weis clone 21.

Cuttings from the St Urban vineyard plantings of the Weis 21 Clone Riesling grow its own roots in water from a grape picked and sliced in the vineyard. President and Winemaker of Vineland Estates Winery Brian Schmidt explains how normally one would take an existing root stock and graft onto it, but not his Dad! Brian is still amazed at the enthusiasm his seventy-seven year old Dad has for the vineyards and the precious clone of Riesling Weis clone 21. Unbeknownst to Brian his father walking the vineyards in December took a few grapes and a shoot of this now prolific Riesling clone to check on how his son Brian’s vines were doing. Awesome,still going and growing strong and beautiful, and after three generations the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as Brian’s passion and enthusiasm is echoed in every word he too speaks about Vineland Estates Winery, the vineyards and the clone!

Weis 21 Clone Riesling was first brought to Canada and planted in 1979 by the founder Hermann Weis. Wiinemakers add complexity to their wines by blending different clones of the same grape on different root stocks. Of the three clones planted in Ontario Weis 21B is the most widely used which was first propagated in a Mosel nursery by Hermann Weis.