Sylvaner or
Silvaner is a variety of white
wine grape grown primarily in
Alsace and
Germany, where its official name is
Grüner Silvaner. In Germany it is best known as a component of
Liebfraumilch and production boomed in the 1970s to the detriment of quality, but it has long enjoyed a better reputation in
Franconia than in other German wine regions. While the Alsatian versions have primarily been considered simpler wines, it was recently (2006) included among the varieties that can be used to produce
Alsace Grand Cru wine together with the four 'noble grapes' of Alsace, although only in one vineyard, Zotzenberg.