Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Albana
and Albana Gentile di Bertinoro are the
best biotypes; the latter is also most common of
all the biotypes. Albana della Serra, which is
also known as Albana della Forcella and is lim-
ited in its distribution to the countryside
around Imola and Faenza, should not be con-
fused with a distinct local variety called For-
cella. Both these cultivars carry the
forcella
moniker because they are characterized by a
bifi d, or two-pronged, cluster:
forcella
means
“fork.”
To the best of my knowledge, DNA profi ling
has not yet been applied to Albana subvarieties
or biotypes, so it is possible that some or all of
them are not biotypes but altogether different
cultivars. Instead, recent genetic studies by two
different research groups (Di Vecchi Staraz,
Bandinelli, Boselli, This, Boursiquot, Laucou,
Lacombe, and Varès 2007; Crespan, Calò,
Giannetto, Sparacio, Storchi, and Costacurta
2008) have confi rmed a parent-offspring rela-
tionship between Albana and Garganega, the
latter of which is one of Italy's oldest varieties;
therefore, Albana is either a grandparent or
half-sibling of Cataratto Bianco, Dorona, Malva-
sia Bianca di Candia, Marzemina Bianca, Mon-
tonico Bianco, Mostosa, Susumaniello, and
Trebbiano Toscano. According to the world-
famous French ampelographer Pierre Galet,
Albana might be identical to a now-rare Corsi-
can variety called Riminèse (Galet 2000).
However, this is still a matter of conjecture: to
the best of my knowledge, no SSR profi ling evi-
dence or other hard scientifi c data supporting
this proposed identity is available; furthermore,
Fontana and Filippetti (2005) have identifi ed a
Riminese di San Rocco variety in Emilia-
Romagna that is distinct from Albana as well as
ten other very common Italian white cultivars,
though it might be related to Vernaccina. So
there appears to be another grape variety out
there with a claim to the Riminese name.
The size and shape of Albana's bunch, leaf,
and berry depend not only on which biotype is
under discussion, but also which clone, of
which there are many: Rauscedo 4 (Serra),
002-AL 7 T, 003-AL 14 T, 004-AL 18 T, 005-AL
where it's found:
Emilia-Romagna.
national
registry code number:
4.
color:
white.
Albana's name most likely derives from Colli
Albani, where Roman legionnaires apparently
fi rst culled the variety before planting it around
the Rubicon in Emilia-Romagna, the variety's
main home to this day. However, since grape
variety names referring to colors were very com-
mon in ancient Rome (see the introduction), it
is very possible that
albana
may be a derivation
of
alba,
meaning white. A less likely hypothesis
is that the name derives from
albuele,
though it
is true that there are many similarities between
Albana and Germany's Elbling grape, which
many in Germany believe was imported by
Romans in the fourth century
C
.
E
.
While Albana's presence has long been doc-
umented in Italy, beginning with Pier de'
Crescenzi (1303), and then Tanara (1644) and
Molon (1906), a walk in the vineyards easily
confi rms the existence of what is likely more
than one Albana variety. I never cease to be
amazed by the myriad appearances of Albana
clusters: long and scrawny, fat and compact,
long and compact, and intermediate forms all
abound. Historically, many unrelated varieties
were named Albana-Something (Nera, Gialla,
etc.), but today there are fi ve recognized bio-
types of Albana: Albana della Bagarona
(medium-large cluster), Albana della Compa-
drona (large bunch), Albana della Gaiana
(small bunch), Albana della Serra (also known
as Albana della Forcella; very long, scrawny,
often bifi d cluster and very small, reddish ber-
ries), and Albana Gentile di Bertinoro (large
bunch). Over the years I have seen another bio-
type, Albana Pizzigatti, which is not yet offi -
cially recognized but is considered ideal for
sweet wine production. Its clusters are less
compact than those of other biotypes; it also
has two large wings, larger berries, and ripens
about ten days later than the others. Later rip-
ening, it holds its acidity better, but I fi nd
the berries have a simpler taste. Local growers
have always told me that Albana della Serra
