Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
in his I giornali dei viaggi, two different types of
Canina Nera, one green stalked and another
red stalked. Marzotto (1925) and Dotti (1927)
also confi rm the two subvarieties; the former
finds the resulting wine pleasant and
renowned, while the latter appears to have been
less impressed. Dotti also clearly states that
Canina Nera differs from Fortana (then often
called Uva d'Oro) because it ripens earlier and
its leaves turn reddish in the fall. Luigi
Veronelli, in his 1961 guide to Italy's wines,
describes Canina Nera as a “charming wine
that pairs well with local foods”: if you ask me,
that's a pretty good compliment from Italy's
fi rst, best, and most knowledgeable wine writer.
Some authors have stated that Canina Nera
is identical to Fortana, an assertion largely
based on the study published by Boccacci,
Torello Marinoni, Gambino, Botta, and Schnei-
der (2005), which also hinted at a possible par-
ent-offspring relationship between it and Lam-
brusco Maestri and at close genetic ties to
Malbo Gentile. Robinson, Harding, and Vouil-
lamoz (2012) also equate the two varieties to
one, Fortana. However, this is a minority view
in Italy. In fact, in the fourteenth offi cial bulle-
tin of the Emilia-Romagna region, dated Janu-
ary 29, 2008 (hence well after Boccacci's study)
describing the species of agricultural interest
in the region, there is no mention anywhere of
Canina Nera and Fortana being identical. In
fact, all the historical references cited in the
bulletin describe Canina Nera as distinct from
Uva d'Oro, the name for Fortana that was used
in centuries past. Nor is Fortana listed among
Canina Nera's synonyms. Marisa Fontana,
Emilia-Romagna's best-known and most
respected ampelographer, who worked for years
at the Tebano Research station, told me fl at-out
recently that to consider Fortana and Canina
Nera identical is nonsense: “the Emilia-
Romagna region has never once had the slight-
est inclination to offi cially recognize the two
varieties as synonymous because they are very
obviously not. They don't even remotely look
like each other.” Admittedly, Fontana's asser-
tion that visually the two grapes don't look any-
thing alike is hard to argue with: their leaves
couldn't be more different, and while Fortana's
berry is round, Canina Nera's is oblong, almost
oval. Furthermore, Boccacci's article is very
rarely quoted anywhere and is hard to fi nd;
other references to Lambrusco Maestri being
related to Fortana or Canina Nera are likewise
hard to come by, but perhaps I am wrong.
Interestingly, in a presentation at the Fourth
International Viticultural Congress held on July
10-12, 2012, in Asti, Giancarlo Scalabrelli of the
University of Pisa presented data relative to rare
grape varieties in the Colline Pisane, in which
he mentions that local varieties Canina Nera,
Oliva, and Uva Vecchia are all synonymous
with Fortana and distinguishes them from the
Canina Nera listed in the National Registry.
Other erroneous identities plague Canina Nera:
for example, the grape has always been mistak-
enly associated with cagnina, a sweet red wine
also made in Emilia-Romagna though with a
completely different grape, Terrano.
Canina Nera is characterized by medium-
large, pyramidal, long bunches and round ber-
ries of varying sizes within the same bunch. It
ripens in late September or early October.
There are no clones available. Vineyard data
(2000) shows that there are fi fty-three hectares
of Canina Nera in the province of Ravenna, and
another thirteen in the rest of Emilia-Romagna.
Unfortunately, given the limited fi nancial ben-
efi ts of growing Canina Nera (at least until
recently), it is very likely that a number of those
hectares have been since uprooted in favor of
other varieties, if they were replanted at all. So
Canina Nera is not abundant. But interest in
the variety in the early twenty-fi rst century is
such that the city of Russi near Ravenna in
Romagna actively sponsored research led by
Francesco Donati at the Centro Ricerche
Produzioni Vegetali (CRPV) in Tebano (an
important grapevine research institution
located in this town) in an effort to safeguard
local wine production. We can hope that the
Russi township's decision to study and to
increase awareness of the local grape variety
and wine will increase new plantings. Cur-
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