Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
FOUR
Major Native and Traditional Grape Varieties
For the purposes
of this topic, I have
defi ned Italy's major native and traditional
grapes as those that are generally recognized as
the country's best known. For the most part,
these grapes have been well studied and
described for centuries, are characterized
genetically, and are turned into monovarietal
wine and sold to the public by at least one estate.
Practically all are listed in the National Regis-
try. Since having fun with wine and tasting the
many different offerings Italy has in store for
us is our ultimate goal, these grape varieties are
common enough for you to fi nd their wines
more or less easily, either in stores near you or
while on vacation in Italy. All the Italian grapes
you might already know (for example, Nebbiolo,
Sangiovese, Fiano) are described in this chap-
ter, but there are many other less-famous vari-
eties that also give rise to wonderful wines and
are worth getting to know. For the same rea-
sons, you will not fi nd a famous cultivar like
Rondinella (an important part of the Valpoli-
cella and Amarone wine blends) in this chap-
ter, as nobody uses it to make a monovarietal
wine in Italy—but you can read about it in
chapter 5. Details such as these aside, my hope
is you will have as much fun reading about all
the grapes that have called Italy home for centu-
ries (and sometimes for much longer than that)
as you will drinking the wines. Cheers!
Abrostine
where it's found:
Tu sc a ny.
national regis-
try code number:
not registered.
color:
red.
Also referred to as Abrostolo, Abrostine is
an example of the diffi culties facing anyone
interested in Italy's native grapes, and in ampe-
lology in general. An ancient Tuscan native
grape fi rst described, in the fi fteenth century,
as growing on the edge of forests (much like
wild grapevines), little information is available
on it today, and that is contradictory and inac-
curate. For example, in the otherwise informa-
tive topic on Italy's native grapes edited by Slow
Food, under the heading Abrusco, the text
states that it is a variety closely related to Abros-
tine, while under the heading Abrostine, the
text states that the two are identical. Clearly, if
they are closely related then it follows that they
