Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
provinces of Florence and Lucca, usually inter-
spersed with Canaiolo Nero, and usually
blended with the latter, though some farmers
have told me they think it makes, perhaps not
surprisingly given the variety's name, a good
rosato.
A likely biotype of Canaiolo Nero is
Cannaiola, used to make the wine Cannaiola
di Marta, and grown in Lazio's Tuscia region
on the shores of Lake Bolsena, its historic and
natural habitat. It was fi rst described by Cinelli
in 1884 and though he felt it was a different
variety from Canaiolo Nero, most experts
today believe Cannaiola is a biotype of the
former that differs noticeably in some viticul-
tural aspects, such as the period of the year
when the berries turn color or when they are
harvested, and vigor. Differences between the
two varieties were recently illustrated by Big-
nami and Filippetti (2002) and again by
Muganu, Dangl, Aradhya, Frediani, Scossa,
and Stover (2009). In the latter study, note-
worthy ampelographic differences were found
between Cannaiola and Canaiolo Nero: the
former was characterized by a later budbreak,
while the latter presented a different color of
shoots and young leaves, a greater density of
hair on the underside of mature leaves, more
loosely-packed bunches, and more (but
smaller) seeds per berry. The study also
described two distinct biotypes of Cannaiola
in Tuscia: Cannaiola di Marta (CM VT 1) and
Cannaiola Macchie di Marta (CMM VT 2).
SSR profi ling at sixteen loci proved that these
two biotypes and Canaiolo Nero were geneti-
cally identical. According to Biasi, Brunori,
Ceccariglia, and Botti who presented data rela-
tive to Cannaiola at a conference on
terroir
in
2010, it seems to perform best in well exposed,
sandy-rich soils at higher hillside altitudes;
productivity falls off in soils that are rich in
clay, probably because good water drainage is a
necessity for Cannaiola. In Tuscia's
terroir,
Cannaiola performs better than Canaiolo
Nero, accumulating higher sugar concentra-
tions and total polyphenols. I fi nd this to be yet
another example of the potential importance
of using locally adapted biotypes in the pro-
duction of wines that are meant to be typical of
a specifi c area.
Outside Italy, Canaiolo Nero has been
planted in California's Temecula, Shenandoah,
and Napa Valleys.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Canaiolo Nero is unmistakably associated with
Tuscany, where it is the ultimate blending agent
for Sangiovese in the many DOC or DOCGs
where the latter variety is king. Thus, Canaiolo
Nero is an important part of Chianti, Vino
Nobile di Montepulciano, Carmignano, and
many other wines, including less-famous
names such as Montecarlo and Colli dell'Etruria
Centrale. Monovarietal Canaiolo Nero wines
are available, often but not always as
rosati.
These wines can be excellent and are worth a
search. A DOC that comes close to monovarie-
tal Canaiolo Nero wines is Tuscany's Pietraviva
Canaiolo (minimum 85 percent Canaiolo
Nero), but tellingly, no producers of note
engage in its production. Winemaking prowess
is needed: the wine tends to undergo very
strong reduction from the moment the malo-
lactic transformation has been completed to the
following spring, but then opens up in pretty
fl oral and sour red-cherry aromas and fl avors.
I love Canaiolo Nero, one of Italy's most mis-
understood and less appreciated varieties; and
in my opinion, the consequences of this nihilis-
tic attitude have been dire. The fact is, there is
simply no better partner for Sangiovese in the
world; and therein lies Canaiolo Nero's great-
ness. More than any other variety—even Mer-
lot—Canaiolo Nero blends with Sangiovese in
an absolutely magical way. Merlot can soften
Sangiovese's tannins and acidity, making it
Sangiovese's best partner among the interna-
tional varieties: certainly far better than Caber-
net Sauvignon, the tannins and acidity of which
are the last thing Sangiovese needs, or Syrah,
which adds a spiciness and superripe fruit
notes of no benefi t to Sangiovese. In contrast,
Canaiolo Nero supports and improves Sangio-
vese and never takes over the wine as Merlot
will tend to do. With a healthy dollop of
