Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
grape giving very dark, structured wines, but
that's too high a percentage, for in that case the
delicate nature of
Schiava
is completely over-
whelmed. Intensely perfumed of strawberry,
almond, and violets, light- to medium-bodied,
and high in acids, schiavas ought to be very
fresh, uncomplicated wines with sneaky con-
centration and complexity, especially when they
come from very old vines.
The easiest way by which to tell Schiava
Gentile apart from the other
Schiava
varieties is
by looking at the grape bunch, as the medium-
large, roughly circular or at most three-lobed
leaf is similar in all three. In Schiava Gentile,
the bunch is medium in size (roughly fi fteen
centimeters long), loosely-packed, pyramidal,
with one obvious wing. Berries are medium-
sized too, generally round, but irregularly so, in
both size and shape, even within the same
bunch. It's a late-ripening, vigorous variety that
is only mildly susceptible to oidium. To date,
there is still only one offi cially certifi ed clone
available, R-1, developed in 1969. As Schiava
Gentile is a low yielding, small-berried variety
many producers believe it capable of giving
quality must, but they are less than thrilled
with its lack of generosity.
Schiava Gentile
where it's found:
Trentino, Alto Adige, Lom-
bardy.
national registry code number:
222.
color:
red.
Also known as Schiava Piccola or
Rothervernatsch, due to its small bunch, Schi-
ava Gentile was well drawn and described by
Molon in 1906 and Rigotti in 1932. According
to Cosmo and Polsinelli (1962), growers
believed there was also a Schiava Media vari-
ety, characterized by grapes of a size in
between those of Schiava Gentile and Schiava
Grossa. However, as Schiava Gentile can often
have slightly bigger berries mixed in with typi-
cally smaller ones even in the same bunch, it
is now clear that Schiava Media does not exist.
Schiava Gentile appears to be genetically simi-
lar to some
Moscato
s (surprisingly, since it is
not at all aromatic) and seems to have some
features in common with little-known varie-
ties of Veneto such as Turchetta and Pavana.
In 2010, Cipriani, Spadotto, Jurman, Di Gas-
pero, Crespan, Meneghetti, et al. wrote that
Schiava Gentile is a parent of Lagrein (the
result of a Schiava Gentile × Teroldego c ross-
ing), but this fi nding is disputed by Vouilla-
moz because in Cipriani's study the proposed
parentage was not verifi ed at two of the thirty-
nine markers analyzed, a level of discrepancy
that Vouillamoz reports has also been found
in nonoffspring-offspring pairs. Furthermore,
Vouillamoz and Grando (2006) refute this
conclusion because, according to their results
based on the analysis of sixty DNA markers,
Marzemino, a sibling of Lagrein, cannot be a
progeny of Schiava Gentile.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Unfortunately, truly monovarietal Schiava
Gentile wines are rare, as most often these are
made with blends of the three varieties. Sup-
posedly monovarietal wines I have tried over
the years are all characterized by pale red to
dark pink colors, fresh red fruit (redcurrant,
sour red cherry, strawberry) and fl oral (butter-
cup, violet) aromas and fl avors. Schiava Gen-
tile's delivery of perfumed, light-bodied, and
high-acid wines makes it an ideal candidate for
rosato
wine production and indeed many pro-
ducers choose to grow it with this purpose in
mind.
wines to try:
Grigoletti** (Schiava Gentile),
Pravis** (Sort Magré), Cantina Aldeno*, Nied-
ermayer*, and Zanoncelli*.
Schiava Grigia
where it's found:
Trentino, Alto Adige.
na -
tional registry code number:
223.
col-
or:
red.
Also called Grauvernatsch, the
grigio
in this
variety's name refers to the copious bloom that
gives a grey look to its dark-blue berries.
According to Grando, Frisinghelli, and Stefa-
