Grapevine of the Month: Solaris
- thevinehouseuk
- Sep 3
- 2 min read
If you ask someone to name a white wine, they’d say Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay, possibly Pinot Gris/Grigio, but would they say Solaris? Probably not. Yet this unsung hero, is taking northern viticulture by storm. If we can get the public familiar with the name, then Solaris could make a name for itself as the new English white wine, as it makes a wonderfully diverse set of wines, in the same way the other famous grapevines do.
Solaris, created in Freiburg, Germany in 1975 by Norbert Becker, is becoming a popular grape variety for UK wine makers for various reasons. Firstly, Solaris is a complex hybrid grape which includes Riesling and Pinot Gris in its heritage, so it’s from good stock and therefore produces clean high acidity wines, with flavours of elderflower, gooseberry, apple, lemon and grapefruit. It is great for making fresh clean white wines through to new wave orange wines. Secondly, Solaris is a PIWI grape vine which is an early ripening variety with good resistance against fungal diseases and some resistance to frost. Thirdly, Solaris will produce a reliable and good crop each year once established and therefore helps vineyards get a reliable source of grapes each year for wine production.
It is interesting to see how various vineyards across the UK are now starting to produce single varietal wines under the Solaris name. So much so, that the major UK wines awards run by WineGB and Independent English Wine Awards (IEWA) now have Solaris being recognised across the UK from north to south, east to west:
2024 IEWA Silver - Sparkling Solaris 2022 Rowton Vineyard, Shropshire
2024 IEWA Bronze - Solaris 2022, Half Penny Green Vineyard, West Midlands
2024 WineGB Silver - Solaris 2022 Burn Valley, Norfolk
2023 WineGB Bronze - Solaris 2022 Dunesforde Vineyard, Yorkshire
So, if you’re looking to find a cool climate white grapevine, then you should look no further than Solaris. If you want to know more about this “English” vine then please contact the VinehouseUK and we’d be happy to help.
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