What sounds like a homage to the Order of St. John is actually an appreciation of the work of Johannes Carpenter, former head of the Research Center at the University of Freiburg. It is a self-crossing of Riesling with the hybrid Freiburg 589-54 from 1968, which received its final approval in 2001. However, to date it has not been widely distributed. The 65 hectares actually in production are spread across almost all wine-growing regions in the country. Johanniter tends to produce high yields, which is why timely thinning and yield regulation are absolutely necessary. The variety is fairly resistant to many vine diseases, especially powdery mildew and downy mildew, but is unfortunately also susceptible to rot diseases, particularly the dreaded black rot. A few plots also exist in Switzerland; the Johanniter was approved in Italy in 2011, although there is still no information about its distribution.
