Grape Groups and Families - Native Wine Grapes of Italy - page 145

medium-small and yellow-green. It is vigorous
and fertile, and ripens early. Clearly, there are
no offi cially certifi ed clones yet.

cina Riminese , which appears to be different
from any other currently known Italian Vernac-
cia variety (some believe that it's identical to
Vernaccina, but this is currently a minority
view). Vernaccina Riminese has a very large
leaf with seven lobes (a rarity, in ampelographic
circles), a medium-sized, compact, cylindrical-
conical bunch, with medium-small, round,
yellow-green berries covered in bloom. There
have been roughly ten different biotypes
identifi ed.

Which Wines to Choose and Why
Vernaccina may be included in IGT wine
blends Emilia, Forlì, Ravenna, and Rubicone.
There are no DOC or DOCG wines that cur-
rently contemplate its presence.

wines to try: There are no monovarietal wines
made, to the best of my knowledge.

Which Wines to Choose and Why
The wines thus far appear to be balanced and
straightforward, with fragrant if simple yellow
fruit and delicately fl oral aromas and fl avors.
The wine is medium-bodied, but has more
structure and palate weight than the aromas
would lead you to expect.

Vernaccina Riminese

Thanks to the early twenty-fi rst-century project
Vitigni Minori of the Regione Emilia-Romagna,
we have new research studies on over one hun-
dred different accessions of unknown or rare
grape varieties of the region. Some of its results
have been truly fantastic, including the identifi -
cation of the Famoso and Ruggine varieties, but
less trumpeted was the identifi cation of Vernac-

wines to try: I am not aware of any monovari-
etal Vernaccina Riminese wines being yet
produced.