Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ings of Refosco del Peduncolo Rosso (though
most everyone just refers to it simply as “Refos-
co”), and many very good wines made. Exam-
ples include Tobin James (James Gang),
Bianchi San Juan Vineyards, Oreana, and Napa
Valley's Mathiasson. You know the grape must
be drumming up considerable interest if even
Trader Joe's is getting in on the act: witness
their rather good Petite Reserve wine, a one-
time offering that carries the very successful
grocery chain's label but is produced and bot-
tled by Familia Nueva, owned by Ancient Peaks
Winery.
In New Mexico, I was thrilled to fi nd Refosco
del Peduncolo Rosso vineyards in fi ne shape:
Estrella del Norte (they source their grapes
from southern New Mexico) and Amaro are
just some of the wineries to watch. There
are others making refosco in this state, but the
results left me underwhelmed.
seem to be particularly complex. However, I
have been told by more than one producer and
local viticulture expert that Refosco Gentile
appears to have considerable winemaking
potential, and the University of Udine has been
busy studying it, so we are likely to learn more
about Refosco Gentile in the near future.
Refoscone
where it's found:
FVG.
national registry
code number:
not registered.
color:
red.
Refoscone is mainly if not only found in the
Colli Orientali DOC zone of Friuli Venezia
Giulia. Sporadic Refoscone grapevines can be
located in the old vineyards of towns such as
Cividale, Prepotto, Buttrio, Manzano, Corno di
Rosazzo, and San Giovanni al Natisone, but the
variety is most common (though still rare) in
the countryside near Nimis, Faedis, and Torre-
ano, where it's called Berzamino. Unlike what
you'll read in even recently published topics, it
is not to be confused with Refosco Nostrano
(Refosco di Faedis), which though similar to
Refoscone, has a much smaller bunch and very
differently shaped leaves. I guarantee that with
a few minutes practice you will also be able to
pick them out in vineyards every time. Refos-
cone is characterized by very large pentagonal
leaves with three to fi ve lobes that are often
superimposed. Its bunch is conical and very
large (easily reaching eight hundred grams or
more), and is medium to tightly packed, with
anywhere from one to four wings. The dark-
blue, round berries are also large. Refoscone
ripens late in the year, at the end of October,
exposing it to the risks of Friuli's very rainy late
season weather (see, for example, the 2010 vin-
tage, when the rain basically never let up).
However, its basal buds are more fertile than
those of other
Refosco
s: this, combined with
bigger bunches and berries, explains its much
higher productivity compared to other
Refosco
s.
Despite this, Refoscone failed to become a huge
hit with farmers over the centuries because the
large berries have very thin skins; this, com-
bined with the very compact bunch, makes
wines to try:
Miani*** (Calvari), Ronchi di
Cialla***, Alberice**, Gigante**, Iole Grillo**,
La Viarte**, Moschioni** (his version is par-
tially air-dried, so the wine is rounder and
creamier), Jacuss**, Le Favole**, Scarbolo**,
Tenuta Tomasella**, Marinig*, and Vigna
Petrussa**.
Refosco Gentile
where it's found:
FVG.
national registry
code number:
not registered.
color:
red.
Refosco Gentile has the smallest bunch of
all the
Refosco
family members, and the berries
are small too: this makes it the least productive
of all
Refosco
s, which explains why its cultiva-
tion was abandoned. It is also marked by an
inability to accumulate high sugar concentra-
tions, and maintains high total acidity levels
even when optimally ripe. Whether this is just
a consequence of nonideal rootstocks, sites, or
pruning methods is not yet clear to me—or to
anyone I've asked, for that matter. Microvinifi -
cations have shown a darker wine than that
obtained with other
Refosco
s, and delicate fl oral
and black fruit aromas and fl avors that don't
