Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Trebbiano di Soave
wines are made in very small quantities and are
hard to fi nd. Even then, though these wines
will have more intense aromas and fl avors, the
aromatic spectrum and depth of fl avor is, in my
experience, always limited in Trebbiano
Toscano wines. In fact, I fi nd while that mono-
varietal Trebbiano Toscano wine is delicately
herbal, lemony, and fresh, even very good ones
will never be rich, dense, or mouthcoating. It
can act as a very good, if simple, aperitif or
pasta wine.
The one product for which this variety is
unquestionably a standout is
vin santo,
the best
examples of which are some of Italy's greatest
wines. But even there, most producers will tell
you that a very large dollop of Malvasia Bianca
Lunga is necessary to make the best wines pos-
sible. Trebbiano Toscano plays an important role
in this blend, adding acidity and allowing for
slightly bigger production volumes, but Malva-
sia Bianca Lunga is necessary for fl esh and
texture.
Foreign versions of Trebbiano Toscano can
be interesting and quite different from the Ital-
ian ones. Taminick Cellars in Australia makes
three versions of a trebbiano wine (one of these
is a sweet wine), from vines that were planted
in 1919. Bella Ridge Estate in the Swan district
also makes a good trebbiano wine.
See verdicchio, chapter 4.
Trebbiano Valtenesi
See verdicchio, chapter 4.
THE VERNACCIA GROUP
Over the centuries, the term
Vernaccia
(fi rst
used to describe a grape variety in Liguria in
1276) was attributed to many Italian varieties
with completely different ampelographic char-
acteristics, from both the northern and south-
ern parts of the country. In fact, of the many
“families” of Italian native varieties, there are
few with members more unrelated than the
Vernaccia
group. The only thing that Vernaccia
di Oristano, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, and
Vernaccia Nera have in common is the fi rst
part of their name. Vernaccia Nera is not the
same as Grenache or Garnacha—though Ver-
naccia Nera is listed as a synonym of Garnacha
by some experts, I couldn't fi nd any ampelo-
graphic or genetic evidence to support this.
Admittedly, it is easy to understand the associa-
tion between
garnacha
and
vernaccia
since both
descend from the same linguistic root, the Latin
word
vernaculum.
However, it appears that
many of the Vernaccia Nera vines dispersed in
the countryside of central Italy are in fact differ-
ent from one another. Though some of these
grapevines may have been originally misidenti-
fi ed as Vernaccia Nera and really are Grenache,
there do exist distinct Vernaccia Nera varieties;
for example, Vernaccia Nera Grossa Cerretana
is distinct from Vernaccia Nera, and neither is
identical with Spain's Garnacha. Apparently,
Vernaccia Bianca, which used to grow in Tren-
tino, is no longer cultivated. To make matters
even more interesting, there is a Vernaccia
Rossa too; however, it is not a
Vernaccia
at all,
but a biotype of Aleatico. However, little things
like these hardly faze Italians, who blithely con-
tinue referring to it by its
Vernaccia
moniker;
and it wouldn't be Italy if there didn't exist a
wines to try:
Baroncini/Fattoria Sovesto**
(La Faina Vendemmia Tardiva) and Acqua-
viva** (Tutti Santi Vendemmia Tardiva, which
includes 10 percent other local grapes),
Ambra**, and Capezzana** (this used to be a
little too oaky, but thankfully the use of oak has
been scaled back). The fi rst two wines are par-
ticularly interesting: they are both made with
late-harvested
Trebbiano
s, which seems like a
very good idea to me, as the technique helps
increase texture and depth of aromas and fl a-
vors. Certainly, this hardy, high-acid grape can
take late harvests smiling.
Trebbiano di Lugana
See verdicchio, chapter 4.
