Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
humid, and is a vigorous, rustic variety with
good productivity and disease resistance,
though it is prone to red spider infestation. It is
very recognizable come fall because its leaves
turn a beautiful red-orange. Historically, it was
also considered a good table grape.
Brachettone is not yet listed in the National
Registry, as its proposed inclusion a few years
ago met with refusal. I have been told that
authorities did not wish to allow another Bra-
chetto-like name, which seems silly: Brachet-
tone has been documented in Piedmont for at
least three hundred years and an alternative
name such as Brachetto Lungo would have
been no different than Glera Lungo and the
like. Besides, Brachettone works just fi ne, in
my view. The fact is, many producers don't like
the name Brachettone, and resist using it. If
you consider that brachettone is also the name
of a very good
salume
made in Emilia-Romagna
near Bobbio, you can understand why some
producers are miffed at having to use the same
name for their grape. Some producers have
taken to calling the variety Birbet, which is the
name of the wine made with it, but others don't
like that name much either, and so still refer to
the variety simply as Brachetto, which is not a
good idea, as that does nothing to further the
cause of their specifi c grape variety and wine,
and only engenders confusion. Local producers
tell me that Brachettone will be listed soon,
though I'm not sure anybody knows under
which name.
In Italy, Brachettone del Roero grows on the
left bank of the Tanaro River, in the Roero pro-
duction zone and has been doing so for over
four hundred years. Very fi ne Brachettone vine-
yards can be found near the towns of Monteu
Roero, Canale, and Montà .
cent alcohol content, or less, on the label.
Though it can also be made as a dry wine, most
producers prefer it as a sparkling and a deli-
cately sweet version. In general, I fi nd birbets to
be a little more rustic and wilder in their aroma
and fl avor profi le than sparkling wines made
with Brachetto. I also fi nd birbet to be more
saline and tannic, and to give an impression of
higher overall acidity. Though birbet is loaded
with rose and red-cherry aromas and fl avors,
wines made with Brachetto seem to have more
balance and gentler aromatics, with more fl oral
notes compared to birbet's herbal, fruity, and
spicy (nutmeg, cinnamon, marjoram, bay leaf)
nuances. Rarer air-dried wines are also made.
wines to try:
Giovanni Almondo*** (Fosso
della Rosa), Malvirà ***, Cascina Chicco***,
Filippo Gallino***, Cantine Rolfo**, Michele
Taliano**, Giacomo Vico**, and Malabaila di
Canale**.
Cagnulari
where it's found:
Sardinia.
national regis-
try code number:
45.
color:
red.
Cagnulari is also known as Bastardo Nero,
Cada Reio, Caldareddu, and Cagliunari; the
fi rst synonym creates confusion since histori-
cally there was another grape (perhaps a bio-
type of Cagnulari) called Bastardo Nero in Sar-
dinia, perhaps related to the grape known as
Bastardo in Spain or Trousseau in France. Cag-
nulari was fi rst described by Di Rovasenda in
1877, but its diffusion was so limited that
Manca dell'Arca (1780), who focused mainly on
varieties grown around Cagliari, didn't men-
tion it. Cettolini in 1897 found, not unreason-
ably, that Cagnulari resembled the
Bovale
s,
while Cara (1909) erroneously thought it had
more in common with Cannonau. In 1962,
Bruni, Breviglieri, and Casini reiterated Cagnu-
lari's resemblance to the
Bovale
s.
I have reviewed past impressions of impor-
tant grape scientists with regard to Cagnulari
because today many believe that Cagnulari is
identical to Bovale Sardo (but not Bovale
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Due to the nomenclature diffi culties, the offi -
cial name of the wine made with Brachettone is
birbet, a
vino rosso da tavola
that is also often
labeled
mosto parzialmente fermentato,
meaning
it is an only partially fermented grape must. For
this reason, birbets usually sport a catchy 6 per-
