Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Trebbiano Giallo are probably not the same
variety (though the National Registry currently
lists the two as synonymous). Things plum-
meted when, about ten years ago, world-famous
winemaker Riccardo Cotarella (owner of the
Falesco estate at the border between Umbria
and Lazio) began making a very successful
wine with a local variety called Roscetto, also
known in the area as Rossetto (its offi cial name
in the National Registry; see ROSSETTO, chap-
ter 4) or as . . . Trebbiano Giallo. So everyone
has begun referring to Trebbiano Giallo, Ros-
setto, and Roscetto as the same variety. To com-
plicate matters even further, there is a so-called
Trebbiano Giallo variety growing in sporadic
rows in Lombardy's Garda Colli Mantovani
area, and according to Calò, Scienza, and Costa-
curta (2006), the same is also found in Umbria,
Veneto, and Puglia.
It's not a very clear situation. For one, Ros-
setto and Roscetto might not be identical varie-
ties: at least, grey-haired locals have told me—
and old documents confi rm—that Roscetto
and Rossetto were once considered distinct (if
they actually were is a different matter). Since
hard evidence of any kind is lacking to back up
this specifi c observation, it may also be that
Roscetto is simply another term for Rossetto in
the local dialect. Second, Cotarella believes that
the Roscetto grape is not a
Trebbiano
at all, but
rather a
Greco:
“I think it's a
Greco
for sure,”
he's told me, “since the grape looks and behaves
like one. Plus, the wine is very tannic and rich,
and the skin is loaded with polyphenols, just
like the Greco of Campania.” In other words,
Cotarella believes that Rossetto should not be
identifi ed with Trebbiano Giallo, and that to
refer to it with the latter name is a mistake.
Though I agree with Cotarella that Trebbiano
Giallo and Rossetto are not one and the same,
and while I also understand his very logical
observation (which would seem to be backed
up by the outstanding wine called Ferentano
he produces with Rossetto, which is big and
tannic, just like those made with the
Greco
vari-
eties, and quite unlike those made with any
Trebbiano
variety), Roscetto/Rossetto is not a
Greco,
or at least, DNA studies show that it is
neither Greco nor Greco Bianco (Muganu,
Dangl, Aradhya, Frediani, Scossa, and Stover
2009). I add that Cotarella's Roscetto or Ros-
setto looks nothing, at least to me, like the
Greco Giallo found in the Castelli Romani and
Cori areas of Lazio, but this does not mean it
isn't a
Greco
after all. That all is not well in the
world of Trebbiano Giallo is also shown by the
fact that the National Registry describes the
variety as an “abundant and regular” producer,
which doesn't sound anything like the Trebbi-
ano Giallo variety described to me by Marco
Carpineti. Based on these numerous consider-
ations, it follows that further accurate ampelo-
graphic studies and DNA analysis are needed
to fully resolve the question of Rossetto versus
Roscetto versus Trebbiano Giallo versus Greco
Giallo.
Last but not least, Trebbiano Giallo was once
also identifi ed with Trebbiano di Spagna, but
this is incorrect. Trebbiano di Spagna is a vari-
ety more accurately called Trebbianina, the
name with which it appears in the National
Registry at number 434. Trebbianina's role as a
wine grape has only been recently appreciated;
up until now, it was considered at best a blend-
ing grape used to make Aceto Balsamico
Tradizionale (traditional balsamic vinegar) in
Emilia-Romagna. Trebbianina has been
recently studied by Pastore and Allegro (2007),
and described as having cuneiform leaves,
grape bunches that are pyramid-shaped, long,
and winged, with medium-small berries. It
clearly does not look anything like the real Treb-
biano Giallo, based on my observations and
those of Carpineti, nor does it resemble the
description of Trebbiano Giallo in the National
Registry.
Generally speaking, Trebbiano Giallo is
characterized by large pentagonal leaves,
medium to large, cylindrical-conical bunches,
with medium-round berries that turn yellow-
gold when fully ripe, dotted with brown fl ecks.
Though there are no officially recognized
clones, there are at least three different biotypes
of Trebbiano Giallo that have been described in
