Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Pallagrello Bianco
winemaker at Vestini Campagnano, fi rst, and
now at Terre del Principe), Pallagrello Bianco is
not endowed with terpenes, so it is never too
aromatic or fl oral, but consumers love its tropi-
cal fruit exuberance. The best ones to try are
the IGTs Terre del Volturno and Campania.
where it's found:
Campania.
national reg-
istry code number:
381.
color:
white.
Long confused with Coda di Volpe Bianca,
Pallagrello Bianco is a distinct variety charac-
terized by higher acidity. Froio, one of the great
experts in Campanian grape varieties, noted in
1876 that Coda di Volpe Bianca and Pallagrello
Bianco (which he called Pallagrella) were not
the same. Ampelographically, Pallagrello
Bianco shares many of the features of Palla-
grello Nero (small, cylindrical bunch and
small, round berries), but it almost always has
a wing (and better botrytis resistance). There
are no offi cial clones yet. Pallagrello Bianco's
distribution is limited to northwestern Campa-
nia, in the area above Caserta, grown especially
around the towns of Caiazzo, Castel Campa-
gnano, and Castel di Sasso.
wines to try:
Vestini Campagnano***, Mas-
seria Piccirillo**, Le Cantine di Hesperia**,
Terre del Principe**, and Castelloducale**
(Vigna del Ventaglio).
Pallagrello Nero
where it's found:
Campania.
national reg-
istry code number:
382.
color:
red.
Like Pallagrello Bianco, Pallagrello Nero
was also thought to be related to Coda di Volpe
Bianca, which explains its synonyms: Coda di
Volpe Nera, Oliorpa, Due Code, Mangiaguerra,
and Coda di Volpe Rossa (the last two errone-
ous, as these are names of completely distinct
varieties). In my experience, Coda di Volpe
Rossa has a much scrawnier bunch and even
smaller berries (clearly a fox, or
volpe,
whose
hunting fortunes were on the decline) than Pal-
lagrello Nero, which by comparison looks posi-
tively Rubenesque, though it has a small bunch
and berries too. Its tightly packed bunch is
more compact than Pallagrello Bianco's and is
never winged (while Bianco's is). Pallagrello
Nero has decent tolerance to drought but is sus-
ceptible to most diseases (more so than Palla-
grello Bianco), especially botrytis bunch rot. It
tends to ripen about a week before Aglianico
when the two are grown in the same vineyards,
but still relatively late (in early October; Palla-
grello Bianco is usually harvested in Septem-
ber). It has been described by Rasetti (1904),
Carlucci (1909), and Violante and Bordignon
(1960) with some accuracy, while today's recog-
nized expert is Luigi Moio.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
There are some wonderful pure bottlings of
this variety, a real star in my eyes, though some
versions are too clever for their own good and
have excess residual sugar, so the wines don't
taste dry, a turnoff for experienced tasters. In
fairness, the wine tends to be alcoholic, as the
variety accumulates sugar easily. Pallagrello
Bianco wines smell and taste a little like Vio-
gnier (though some believe that it is more remi-
niscent of Chardonnay) but have better acidity
(though this tends to drop very quickly as the
grapes reach full maturity, usually between the
second and third weeks of September), and less
exuberant perfume: it gives aromas of yellow
apple, lemon, and minerals; and, in warmer
climates, pineapple, peach, and vanilla. They
therefore differ from wines made with Coda di
Volpe Bianca (though a lot depends on where
the grapes of the latter are grown); Pallagrello
Bianco wines have higher acidities, while Coda
di Volpe Bianca wines tend to be softer and less
tropical-fruit accented. According to Luigi Moio
of the University of Naples Agriculture Depart-
ment, probably the most recognized expert on
Pallagrello
varieties today (also the consultant
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Pallagrello Nero was once grown all over Cam-
pania, a signifi cant difference from Pallagrello
Bianco, which has always been limited to the
