Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Barsaglina
ders: as the underside of Barsaglina's leaf is
very downy, it offers a wonderful habitat for
these pests, making Barsaglina a diffi cult cul-
tivar to grow organically. Stefano Dini told me
once he has tried just about everything in the
organic viticulturalist's armory in his battle
with Barsaglina against spiders, but so far he's
only met defeat. On the positive side, Barsa-
glina is a beautiful variety, characterized by
erect growth and long internodes on its
branches, so rows of Barsaglina vines have an
airy, refi ned look to them. There is one certi-
fi ed clone, BARSA-FI.PI-1.
Barsaglina is rare, limited to no more than
fi fty known hectares: there are scattered vines
in the Colline Lucchesi (in my view, probably
an environment that's too cold for it), in Chi-
anti Classico, and the Tuscan coast (given the
heat, these wines tend to be high in pH and low
in total acidity). It is most abundant in the
Massa Carrara / La Spezia area of Tuscany,
where it is part of the DOCs Colli di Luni Rosso
and Candia dei Colli Apuani, and IGT wines
(some famous such as Costa Toscana, others
unknown even to most Italians, including the
Colline del Genovesato, Montecastelli and Val
di Magra blends).
where it's found:
Tu sc a ny.
national regis-
try code number:
22.
color:
white.
Long burdened by a bad rap (wines made
from it supposedly had less-than-impressive,
even musty aromas), Barsaglina (at times,
incorrectly spelled Bersaglina) is a rare variety
originally of the Massa Carrara territory in Tus-
cany. Not surprisingly then, a very commonly
used synonym is Massaretta. Di Rovasenda
(1877) mentioned Barsaglina without describ-
ing it; the fi rst to do so accurately was Marzotto
(1925), followed by Breviglieri and Casini
(1964). Barsaglina is very easily recognizable in
the vineyard; like the
Colorino
s, it's character-
ized by large leaves that turn red in the fall.
The variety was essentially saved from
extinction by the Lorieri family, owners of
Podere Scurtarola in Tuscany, who were
helped by Paolo Storchi, a well-known Italian
grape scientist. Lorieri and Storchi set up a
unique collection of local grapevines, includ-
ing Barsaglina, in an experimental and
research vineyard at Podere Scurtarola in
1996 thereby ensuring the survival of this and
other varieties. According to Valerio Brighi,
the owner of the small estate Mocine in
Asciano (Tuscany), who works with Attilio
Pagli and Stefano Dini and has plenty of expe-
rience with Barsaglina, the cultivar likely fell
out of favor with farmers due to its thin skin,
which make it easy prey to botrytis (Barsagli-
na's tightly packed bunch only compounds
this problem); its poor adaptability to environ-
mental stressors, such as drought, probably
didn't win it admirers either. Roberto Ban-
dinelli, one of Italy's leading grape variety
experts and professor of viticulture at the Uni-
versity of Florence, also points out that Barsa-
glina hates excessive sunlight exposure; it's
prone to oidium and sunburn and tends to
drop its leaves. Furthermore, though vigorous,
it has poor fertility and therefore production
volumes are low. This is why Stefano Dini sug-
gests using vigorous rootstocks. Another com-
mon problem is posed by yellow and red spi-
Which Wines to Choose and Why
“By itself, Barsaglina wine is extremely dark,
almost impenetrable, with ripe, dark-berry and
black-plum aromas. In cold years however, it
can be green,” says Brighi. “In the old days,
people thought the wines had off odors, but we
know today this happened because the thin
skins tend to break down easily. Without proper
enologic care, these skins cause reductive, foul-
smelling odors.” Nonetheless, Barsaglina has
won admirers and is now coming on strong,
with more producers giving it a try. Both reds
and
rosati
are made, and Barsaglina's delicate
aromas and fl avors are well suited to the latter.
The red wines are very dark (plenty of anthocy-
anins) with good structure. They are notewor-
thy for a savory, delicately herbal quality and
small blackberry aromas and fl avors, usually
lifted by decent acidity. The wines may not be
