Dornfelder was created in 1956 at the Weinsberg Research Center in Baden-Württemberg by German grape breeder August Herold.
The variety was created as a cross of two Vitis vinifera crossing previously created by Herold, Helfensteiner (a cross of Frühburgunder/Pinot Précoce noir and Trollinger/Schiava Grossa created in 1931) and Heroldrebe (a cross of Blauer Portugieser and Blaufränkisch/Lemberger created in 1929).
The variety was named after one of the 19th century founders of the school of viticulture at Weinsberg, Immanuel August Ludwig Dornfeld.

Originally created as a blending variety to add color to the pale red wines of Germany, plantings of Dornfelder were initially slow to take off.
By 1970 there was only around 100 hectares (250 acres) of the variety planted.
The grape was officially approved for German wine production in 1980 with plantings rapidly increasing throughout the rest of the 20th century.
From 2000 to 2005-2006, plantings again doubled as wine produced from Dornfelder earn commercial success.

As a successful vinifera crossing, Dornfelder was used as a parent variety to create several new varieties including Acolon (a 1971 crossing with Blaufränkisch), Cabernet Dorio (a 1971 crossing with Cabernet Sauvignon), Cabernet Dorsa (another 1971 crossing with Cabernet Sauvignon) and Monarch (a 1988 crossing with Solaris).
Dornfelder was created in 1956 at the Weinsberg Research Center in Baden-Württemberg by German grape breeder August Herold. The variety was created as a cross of two Vitis vinifera crossing previously created by Herold, Helfensteiner (a cross of Frühburgunder/Pinot Précoce noir and Trollinger/Schiava Grossa created in 1931) and Heroldrebe (a cross of Blauer Portugieser and Blaufränkisch/Lemberger created in 1929). The variety was named after one of the 19th century founders of the school of viticulture at Weinsberg, Immanuel August Ludwig Dornfeld.
Originally created as a blending variety to add color to the pale red wines of Germany, plantings of Dornfelder were initially slow to take off. By 1970 there was only around 100 hectares (250 acres) of the variety planted. The grape was officially approved for German wine production in 1980 with plantings rapidly increasing throughout the rest of the 20th century. From 2000 to 2005-2006, plantings again doubled as wine produced from Dornfelder earn commercial success.
As a successful vinifera crossing, Dornfelder was used as a parent variety to create several new varieties including Acolon (a 1971 crossing with Blaufränkisch), Cabernet Dorio (a 1971 crossing with Cabernet Sauvignon), Cabernet Dorsa (another 1971 crossing with Cabernet Sauvignon) and Monarch (a 1988 crossing with Solaris).
Dornfelder