The descendance of Welschriesling is uncertain. The German name Welschriesling literally means 'Romanic Riesling' (cf. Walhaz), and most of the synonyms in Central Europe are variations on 'Italian Riesling'. Welschriesling may have been brought to Central Europe by the ancient Romans. However, the Croatian name Graševina suggests that the origin might be somewhere to the east of the Balkans.
In Croatia, Graševina is the most planted white grape variety. It is grown in all the inland wine regions, particularly in Kutjevo municipality and around Ilok, both in the far east of the country.
In Slovenia, Welschriesling is known as laški rizling ('Italian Riesling') as opposed to renski rizling ('Rhine Riesling'; i.e., Riesling proper). It is grown in the Lower Styria region of eastern Slovenia, produces dry to medium-dry wines in the Vipava Valley in western Slovenia, and is cultivated in White Carniola to the southeast with well-known superior quality wines.
^Maul, E.; Eibach, R. (1999). "Vitis International Variety Catalogue". Information and Coordination Centre for Biological Diversity (IBV) of the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE), Deichmanns Aue 29, 53179 Bonn, Germany. Archived from the original on 2012-04-14. Retrieved 2007-04-15.