Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
(best known for working with star consultant
winemaker Maurizio Castelli at the Bastianich's
wine estate in Friuli) helps out the producers in
the association when they have a question or a
problem from time to time. A native of Tarcento
(a town close by Faedis), Del Medico also
believes that wines made with Refosco Nostrano
age spectacularly well; he especially likes the
tertiary aromas that develop in time. “Every
time I try a ten- or twelve-year-old wine,” he
says, “I am amazed by the complexity of the fl o-
ral and spicy notes; they have a really unique
bouquet among wines made with other Italian
red grape varieties.”
and Germany (save in Württemberg, where the
name used is Urban) and as Vernatsch or more
rarely Geschlafene in Alto Adige, the
Schiava
group of grapes was already well known by that
name in ancient Rome, where vineyards
cum
vineis sclavis
(“with vines enslaved,” that is, tied
to poles as opposed to running free around
trees or other natural supports) fetched four
times more than others. Already in Roman
times, people were aware that providing some
sort of non-natural support (such as poles or
wires, for example, instead of trees) for the
vines improved the quality of the wines. This is
because trees, though pretty and capable of pro-
viding another crop (for example, olives) also
caused the grapes to sit in the shade, and there-
fore made it rare for them to achieve full matu-
rity. Other experts believe the name
Schiava
derives from “Slavic,” implying an Eastern
European origin for the variety (thanks to the
Huns or the Longobards; in the late Middle
Ages the grape was referred to as Hunnisch).
Though a stimulating hypothesis, this interpre-
tation seems unlikely:
Schiava
varieties appear
to be unrelated to grapes of Hungary, Romania,
Armenia, or Georgia.
The
Schiava
s are undoubtedly the most fre-
quently mentioned family of grapes in the Mid-
dle Ages, both in agricultural treatises and offi -
cial documents. A plot of
Schiava
in Trentino is
mentioned in a 1311 document from the monas-
tery of Santa Margherita in Ala.
Schiava
wine
must have been well regarded, since it was
bequeathed in wills, such as William di Castel-
barco's, who in 1319 left his heirs “
urnas uvae
sclavae grapulae.
” In 1536, country wine in Tren-
tino sold for two
quattrini a moiolo,
while schi-
ava sold for three
quattrini.
The vines may have
been called “slaves,” but they were well paid. In
the Middle Ages and later, the
Schiava
group
included many cultivars that were probably not
even distantly related. However, some of the
varieties did have features in common: all were
hardy, early ripening, very fertile and produc-
tive, and generally gave light-colored wines (and
tended to suffer from dissection of the spine).
They also shared ampelographic characteristics
wines to try:
Gianni Comar***, Flavia De
Gaspero**, Elvio Zani**, Ronc dal Luchis**,
Vigna delle Beccacce*, Maurizio Perabò*.
Refosco del Boton
See
TAZZELENGHE
, chapter 4.
Refosco di Faedis
See
REFOSCO
NOSTRANO
entry.
Refosco di Guarnieri
See
TREVISANA
NERA
, chapter 5.
Refosco di Ronchis
See
REFOSCO
NOSTRANO
entry.
Refosco d'Istria
See
TERRANO
, chapter 4.
THE SCHIAVA GROUP
The
Schiava
s are a group of unrelated grape
varieties typically found in Europe's alpine
countries, all characterized by a rugged dispo-
sition and potentially very good, light-bodied,
light-colored wines. Though grapes of this
group are better known as Trollinger in Austria
