Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Canaiolo Nero (I would say at least 10-15 per-
cent) Sangiovese's bright fl oral and red-berry
notes gain in power and clarity, resulting in a
refi ned mouthfeel and a lightness of being that
can be wondrous. By contrast, wines contain-
ing internationals are marked by black fruit,
tar, and inky notes that have less appeal than
the refi ned fruity charm of the Sangiovese-
Canaiolo Nero combination. In this respect,
Canaiolo Nero acts much like a co-factor with
Sangiovese: co-factors are those molecules that
help reactions catalyzed by enzymes run
smoother, by improving enzyme effi ciency.
Only Malvasia Nera comes as close to being
Sangiovese's ideal sparring partner. Over the
years, I have tasted countless well-kept Chiantis
from the 1960s and 1970s (brimming not just
with Canaiolo Nero, but with white varieties
too) and they are all infi nitely more delicious
and drinkable today than some very thick and
rich Cabernet- and Merlot-laced wines from the
1980s and 1990s.
When good, a Canaiolo Nero wine offers a
light-to-medium body, and refreshing, lightly
tannic experience, with pretty red-berry and
delicate fl oral notes and plenty of saline tang. Le
Terrine by Castello della Paneretta, a reportedly
50 percent Canaiolo Nero and 50 percent San-
giovese blend, is truly amazing, one of Italy's
best but least-known red wines. Stefano Casadei
of the Castello del Trebbio estate in Chianti
Rufi na points out that the wonderful fruitiness
and drinkability of these wines explain why
Canaiolo Nero was the Tuscan grape of choice
to make nouveau -style wines ( novelli in Italian)
thirty years ago when these wines were more in
demand. Rocca di Castagnoli, another excellent
Chianti estate, also owns very high-quality
Canaiolo Nero vines, but does not bottle a
monovarietal Canaiolo Nero either. The Lazio
wine Cannaiola di Marta from the shores of
Lake Bolsena is made from lightly air-dried
grapes and is delicately sweet and rich.
quantities), and Podere Terenzuola** (Merla
della Miniera, where they also make a rosato ).
For rosati, try: Sono Montenidoli*** (Canaiuolo,
by the famed Vernaccia di San Gimignano pro-
ducer) and Villa Calcinaia*** (Rosato). For
Umbria, try: Le Poggiette* (though it tastes
more like a Colorino to me; I could be wrong).
For Liguria, try Possa** (U Neigru Rosso di
Possaitaru). For Lazio's Cannaiola di Marta,
try: Castelli**, San Savino**, and San Laz-
zaro**. If there exist any monovarietal bottlings
outside Italy, I have not yet been fortunate
enough to taste them.
Canina Nera
where it's found: Emilia-Romagna. national
registry code number: 50. color: red.
Canina Nera probably represents yet another
case of ampelographic misidentifi cation lead-
ing to erroneous genetic conclusions, in the
vein of previous mistaken identities such as
Mondeuse Noire / Refosco and Albariño / Sav-
agnin. As we shall see, Canina Nera is most
likely not identical to Fortana (another variety
typical of Emilia-Romagna), despite what has
been written elsewhere.
Also known as Canèna, Canina Nera was
less commonly called Canaiola, Canucula, and
Canica, while Canina tout court was reserved
for an unrelated white-berried variety. Accord-
ing to Breviglieri and Casini (1964) it was once
confused with Canaiolo Nero, which I have no
trouble believing, given the similarity of the
two names. In the past, Canina Nera was
believed it to be a very low-quality grape that
gave a very light red wine of little interest. For-
tunately, not everyone agreed with this view
and the grape wasn't abandoned; in fact it was
the most abundantly planted grape in the
Romagna area in the late 1800s, so it had to
have merits. Canina Nera has been grown in
Romagna since at least the 1800s; it's a protago-
nist in the 1836 poem “ Brindisi ad un esimio
bevitore ” (“A Toast to a Noble Drinker”) written
by Jacopo Landoni. In 1839, Gallesio describes
wines to try: Castelvecchio*** (Numero
Otto), Flli Grati*** (Mondo Canaiolo), Podere
Lavandaro** (Vigna Nera, made in very small
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