Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Bianchetta, Bianchetta Gentile, Pavana Bianca,
and Pignola Bianca. Other names were used
only in specifi c areas: Senese in Breganze, Ver-
nanzina in the Colli Berici, Vernassina in the
Colli Euganei, and Vernaccia, Vernazza, or Ver-
naccia Trentina in the Trentino and Alto Adige
regions. This is because local farmers were
always convinced their grape was different
from that of others. We know today that many
of these synonyms are wrong, as they refer to
varieties such as Pavana which are distinct
from Bianchetta Trevigiana. A recent DNA
study has also suggested that Bianchetta Trevi-
giana is the result of a natural crossing of
Brambana (a red-berried grape) and Durella,
another Veneto native, but this is controversial
(Cipriani, Spadotto, Jurman, Di Gaspero, Cres-
pan, Meneghetti, et al. 2010).
Though Bianchetta Trevigiana is somewhat
forgotten today and reduced to the role of a
minor blending grape, I believe it is noteworthy
that Bianchetta Trevigiana has always been
appreciated for making high-quality wines. It
was probably first mentioned in 1679 by
Giacomo Agostinetti di Cimadolmo, who called
it Bianchetta Gentile and believed it made the
best wines of the Trevigiano area. Bianchetta's
fortunes took a turn for the worse at the begin-
ning of the eighteenth century, when a severe
frost killed off many of the more delicate varie-
ties; farmers preferred to replant with more
resistant and fertile varieties. In 1864, Semenzi
described the wine as “super-delicious” and
tells us that Bianchetta wines from the Colli di
Conegliano were exported to Austria and Ger-
many. By 1874, according to Carpené, Bian-
chetta Trevigiana was cultivated in thirty-nine
townships. Ampelographically, it was described
only in 1901 by Zava, who mentioned that it was
abundant in many areas of Veneto, including
Padova, Venezia, Verona, Vicenza, Treviso, and
Belluno. Bianchetta Trevigiana is characterized
by medium-large, pyramidal, stocky bunches
with one very large wing, so that it looks as if
there are two bunches in one. The berries are
medium-sized, round, and covered with aver-
age amounts of bloom; unfortunately, though
the berries have very thick skins (an important
winemaking feature for Bianchetta Trevigiana),
the fairly tightly packed bunch makes the vari-
ety an easy prey of botrytis. Bianchetta Trevi-
giana ripens in late September or in the fi rst
ten days of October. There are as yet no offi cial
clones available.
In Italy, Bianchetta Trevigiana is most com-
monly found in the Prosecco production area,
around Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, espe-
cially near Maser, Cornuda, Asolo, Castelcucco,
and Monfumo; it is also grown, more rarely, in
Trentino. It has been planted outside Italy as
well, most notably North America. In Califor-
nia, in fi eld trials to evaluate varieties for plant-
ing in the San Joaquin Valley, Bianchetta Trevi-
giana was found to rot too easily in that
particular microclimate. Bianchetta Trevigiana
is instead being looked at in cooler American
microclimates. A Colorado State University
project is aimed at testing wine grapes (includ-
ing Bianchetta Trevigiana) in various wine
grape growing areas in more than twenty
states.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Bianchetta Trevigiana is almost always used in
blends, in variable percentages: DOC wines are
Colli di Conegliano, Garda, Lugana, Montello,
Colli Asolani, Valdadige, and Trentino's Vigneti
delle Dolomiti Bianco. A maximum of 10 per-
cent Bianchetta Trevigiana can be used to make
the Veneto sweet wine Torchiato di Fregona.
Often, it is blended with Glera to add acidity
and especially structure to many proseccos.
Desiderio Bisol, of the famous Prosecco Bisol
estate, feels that monovarietal Bianchetta Trevi-
giana wines are light and fresh, but lack com-
plexity and depth, though a number of local
producers still make small quantities of 100
percent Bianchetta wines. Eighteenth- and
nineteenth-century documents reveal that
Bianchetta Trevigiana was often made in two
ways: by cold fermentation off the skins for
maximum freshness and fruit expression, and
by macerating on the skins to create richer,
more complex wines. Clearly, winemakers of
