Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
are not uncommon. However, wine lovers
ought to take note of the fact that Biancolella
wines will taste remarkably different depend-
ing on where the grapes are grown on the
island. Wines made from Biancolella grown on
the southern part of the island are usually
richer and softer, as the vines are sheltered
from rains and winds, but even wines made in
the island's southern half can differ considera-
bly. For example, the low-lying, high-quality
Calitto vineyard produces grapes used to make
fruit-forward wines of early accessibility, while
the wine made from Vigna del Lume grapes, a
vineyard that literally grows next to the sea, is
remarkably more herbal and saline; meanwhile,
wine made from grapes grown in the Frassitelli
vineyard is more refi ned and elegant. Frassitelli
is possibly the island's one true
grand cru.
Located at six hundred meters above sea level, it
is also one of the most beautiful vineyards in
the world, offering a vantage point from which
you can gaze out over the Mediterranean and
watch Capri, Procida, and Vesuvius in the dis-
tance. Frassitelli's slopes are so steep it is virtu-
ally impossible to stand there, so the grapes are
brought down via a monorail train system.
These richer, more structured wines stand up
to weightier fi sh dishes; otherwise biancolella
is ideal as an aperitif or with simply prepared
fi sh dishes. All Biancolella wines have the
potential to be delicious, with complexity and
depth of fl avor uncommon in many Italian
white wines, but you do have to like a saline
note in your wines.
national registry code number:
32.
color:
white.
Bombino Bianco has always been grown
mainly in Puglia, but only recently has its
potential to make very high-quality wine
become apparent. It is unrelated to the other
Puglian Bombino variety, Bombino Nero, a red-
berried variety with which it appears to share
only a name. Instead, recent research suggests
that Bombino Bianco is most likely a parent of
two other Puglian cultivars, Impigno and
Moscatello Selvatico (Cipriani, Spadotto, Jur-
man, Di Gaspero, Crespan, Meneghetti, et al.
2010). The cultivar's origin is unknown: some
experts believe Bombino Bianco was brought to
Italy by the Templar knights during the Cru-
sades, others that it's of Spanish origin, but
there is no convincing documentation to sup-
port either hypothesis. Its name probably
derives from the unique shape of the bunch,
which resembles that of a cuddling infant and
has nothing to do with bombs (fruit, small, or
otherwise); in fact, it is also called Bambino.
Another hypothesis is that the name is a cor-
ruption of
bonvino,
or good wine.
There are many reasons why Bombino Bian-
co's merits have long gone unrecognized, not
the least of which is a great deal of confusion
regarding its exact identity. In fact, Puglia's
Bombino Bianco has long been misidentifi ed
with Emilia-Romagna's Mostosa (another vari-
ety typical of that region, which many believe to
be a synonym of Pagadebit), with Abruzzo's
Trebbiano Abruzzese, and more recently with
Lazio's Ottonese. In Lazio's Castelli Romani
area, the presence of Bombino Bianco has been
documented for centuries, but recent research
implied that it is also identical to Ottonese, a
variety typical of the more southern reaches of
the region. Following these misidentifi cations,
a long sequence of planting errors ensued; in
the belief that Bombino Bianco is identical to
Mostosa (or Pagadebit), it was planted exten-
sively in Emilia-Romagna, and for the same
reason, it was also much planted in Abruzzo,
because producers wishing to plant Pagadebit
or Trebbiano Abruzzese were told they were
wines to try:
The best producer is D'Ambra***
(especially his Frassitelli, but the regular bot-
tling is also very good), Cenatiempo**, Antonio
Mazzella** (Vigna del Lume; a seaside vine-
yard, where the only way to bring the grapes to
the cellar is by boat), Tomasone*, and
Pietratorcia*.
Bombino Bianco
where it's found:
Puglia, Emilia-Romagna,
Marche, Campania, Lazio, Sardinia, Umbria.
