Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
narola, and Riomaggiore) had a solid reputation
in the fi fteenth century, and a
Vernaccia
from
Corniglia was mentioned by Sacchetti (1332-
1400), who wrote that grapevines of this variety
were introduced into Tuscany from the Cinque
Terre (Tellini 2007). Clearly, if grapevines really
were brought into Tuscany from Liguria, this
would mean that Tuscany's most famous white
wine and grape is actually a Ligurian native.
This is possible, given that we now know the
Ligurian variety Piccabon is actually Vernaccia
di San Gimignano (Torello Marinoni, Rai-
mondi, Ruffa, Lacombe, and Schneider 2009).
De Astis, in 1937, was the fi rst to describe the
variety in detail and how it was unrelated to the
other
Vernaccia
varieties, though, according to
Scalabrelli and D'Onofrio, Fregola had already
mentioned this briefl y in 1932.
Vernaccia di San Gimignano has large,
pyramidal, fairly compact bunches (usually
winged), and medium, oval or elliptical berries
with medium-thick skins. In other words, it
couldn't look anymore different from Vernaccia
di Oristano. The harvest usually occurs in late
September or early October
.
It prefers marly-
clay soils but does well in tufa-sandy ones too,
both of which are common around San Gimi-
gnano. There are eleven offi cial clones of Ver-
naccia di San Gimignano (V-P-6, U.S. FI-PI 8,
UFI RC S 414, VCR 435, and the UFI RC S.
Gimignano clones 3, 5, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19).
cent Vernaccia di San Gimignano and 10 per-
cent other (nonaromatic) white grapes, some
wines can be marked by too much Chardonnay
at times, or even by the delicate pepper of
Manzoni Bianco.
There is probably no white wine that has
improved more in Italy over the last ten years;
there are now a bevy of wonderfully crisp wines
of sneaky concentration that, most of the time,
actually remind you of the Vernaccia di San
Gimignano variety. Non-
riservas
are usually
very good examples of wines made in a modern
unoaked, crisp, fruit-driven style, though be
warned that the aromas and fl avors of vernac-
cia di San Gimignano are never of mind-obfus-
cating intensity or penetration. On the other
hand,
riserva
wines are suitably beefed up by
the intelligent use of oak, and I admit to always
being surprised by just how well vernaccia di
San Gimignano can tolerate, and be improved
by, a gentle judicious oaking. Given its some-
what neutral aromas, a hint of vanilla spice is a
welcome addition, but in the hands of wannabe
woodcutters, the wines can turn out hopelessly
overoaked, beyond boring and undrinkable.
Fortunately, such wines are now very much in
the minority. Due to its tannic nature, vernac-
cia di San Gimignano was once considered by
locals as a red wine in white clothing, but mod-
ern versions tend to be fresher and lighter. The
wines are not only very good now, but clear-cut
differences between production sub-areas are
becoming apparent, always an added value in
the realm of fi ne wine. For instance, with wines
from the Pancole zone taste meaty and thick
and those from Santa Maria lighter and more
perfumed. Overall, there are at least four differ-
ent sub-areas yielding rather different wines, in
my opinion. If things are now looking up, it's
thanks in part to the hard work of the Consor-
zio della Denominazione San Gimignano and
Giovanni Panizzi, its past president and owner
of the (excellent) eponymous winery, who sadly
passed away a few years ago. He will be missed.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
The best and most famous wine made with the
Vernaccia di San Gimignano grape is DOCG
vernaccia di San Gimignano, but the variety
can also be used to make DOC Gimignano
wines and many IGT wines (for example, Bet-
tona, Cannara, Colli Cimini, Narni, and Planar-
gia). Of course, by far the best of all is vernaccia
di San Gimignano, of which there are numer-
ous interpretations, some oaky (the
riserva
wines usually are too much so, as they receive a
minimum of one year of oak aging), some cit-
rusy (and to my taste, far too reminiscent of
Sauvignon Blanc wines), some exceptional. As
the requirement is for a minimum of 90 per-
wines to try:
Fontaleoni*** (Vigna Casa-
nuova and the entry-level wine), Guicciardini
