What is "elbling"

Not to be confused with Elbing, a city in Poland.

Elbling is a variety of white grape (sp. Vitis vinifera) which today is primarily grown in the upstream parts of the Mosel region in Germany and in Luxembourg, where the river is called Moselle. The variety has a long history, and used to cover much of Germany's vineyards from medieval times and was that country's most cultivated variety until the early 20th century, but has been in decline ever since. As of 2006, there were of Elbling vineyards in Germany, which made it the country's 23rd most grown variety of grape. Of that vineyard surface, 575 ha or 98.6% was found in the Mosel region In the same year, there were of Elbling grown in Luxembourg.