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better known as Terrano; the second includes
the fi ve other
Refosco
s, which were at that time
thought to be Refosco Gentile (also called Refos-
co di Rauscedo), Refoschin (also called Refosco
degli Uccelli), Refoscone (also called Refosco
Nostrano, Refosco di Faedis, and Refosco di
Ronchis), Refosco Guarnieri, and Refosco del
Boton. However it was already apparent then
that some members of the second group, espe-
cially the last three, differed enough from mem-
bers of the fi rst group that they were likely dis-
tinct species and not true
Refosco
s. In fact, the
genetic research performed by Costacurta's
group showed that Refosco del Boton is identical
to Tazzelenghe (another red-berried Friuli
native), and a study identifi ed Refosco Guarneri
with Trevisana Nera, a rare variety of Veneto
(Crespan, Calò, Giannetto, Sparacio, Storchi,
and Costacurta 2008).
Thanks to Petrussi's recent work (presented
in Sivilotti and Stocco 2013) which refutes pre-
vious conclusions drawn not just by Costacurta
et al. but other researchers as well (see Cipri-
ani, Frazza, Peterlunger, and Testolin 1994),
we have acquired new knowledge about the
Refosco
group. First, Refosco Nostrano (though
producers prefer the name of Refosco di Faedis
as it ties the grape to their local territory) is not
a biotype of Refoscone, but a distinct variety;
instead, it is Refosco di Ronchis that is most
likely a biotype of Refosco Nostrano. In fact,
ampelographical differences between Refos-
cone and Refosco Nostrano are obvious even to
the uninitiated, as the former has much bigger
leaves and bunches. Refoscone's leaves are
heavily indented and have at least fi ve lobes,
while Refosco Nostrano's characteristically vary
(even on the same grapevine): some are circu-
lar, others pentagonal and marginally indented.
The bunches are also very different: those of
Refoscone weigh 800 grams or more, while
Refosco Nostrano bunches weigh only 150-200
grams. Unfortunately, both varieties are often
planted together in the same vineyard, as
Petrussi showed me during a walk through an
old vineyard last fall; over and over again, I saw
a vine of Refoscone standing right next to one
of Refosco Nostrano, though the vineyard was
supposedly planted entirely to the Refosco Nos-
trano variety. Second, Refoschin (or Refosco
degli Uccelli) is apparently identical to Refosco
del Peduncolo Rosso, and therefore not a dis-
tinct variety: it's different morphologic appear-
ance is the result of the latter variety being
planted in poor, nutrient-defi cient soils. Third,
there still exists a very small population of
Refosco Bianco, a white-berried variety that car-
ries the same name as the red-berried
Refosco
s
though it is completely unrelated to the others.
Last but not least, there appears to be no truth
to the hypothesis that yet another Friuli native,
Piculit Neri, is a biotype of Refosco Nostrano or
of Refosco del Peduncolo Rosso, as some
experts have stated over the years. Interestingly,
Petrussi had already pointed out to me in an
interview years ago that it was highly unlikely
that Piculit Neri and Refosco Nostrano were
one and the same, as in over fi fty years of
speaking with farmers, he had never heard any-
one refer to Piculit Neri as a
Refosco.
That men
of science might do well to listen more thor-
oughly to what old-timers with decades of expe-
rience have to say about their local grapes is
well demonstrated by the fact that many farm-
ers have always used the name Refosco del
Peduncolo Rosso interchangeably with Refo-
schin (as was done in localized areas of Friuli
Venezia Giulia centuries ago), despite the fact
that university studies of the last few decades
had stated that the two varieties were geneti-
cally distinct. With better research tools, it
appears they are not.
Sticking with relative certainties, at the
present state of knowledge we can include four
distinct varieties in a
Refosco
group: Refosco del
Peduncolo Rosso, Refosco Nostrano (Refosco di
Faedis), Refoscone, and Refosco Bianco. Wine
is made in commercially signifi cant volumes
with the fi rst two only; and though Refosco del
Peduncolo Rosso is the most important and
best-known
Refosco,
now that more is fi nally
being learned about Refosco Nostrano (Refosco
di Faedis) it appears it may actually be the bet-
ter of the two. Of course, sometimes wine pro-
