Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Carica L'asino
Sebastiano al Vesuvio, Torre del Greco, Ter-
zigno, Sant'Anastasia, Somma Vesuviana, and
Viuli. It is also grown on the Monte Somma, a
lower portion of the ancient volcano, where the
colorful landscape of black lava, brownish tufa,
red
pomodorini del piennolo,
and green trees
loaded with orange apricots of a local, high-
quality biotype makes a beautiful sight.
where it's found:
Piedmont.
national reg-
istry code number:
53.
color:
white.
Also known as Barbassese in Italian, and Bar-
bassìs or Barbassé in the Piedmontese dialect,
this grape is more commonly known as Carica
L'asino, probably due to its highly productive and
regular yields (
carica l'asino
means “load up the
donkey”). Another theory holds that it acquired
its name from the steep slopes and tightly spaced
rows of its vineyards, where the only way to har-
vest and carry grapes was by donkeys, since nei-
ther carts nor wagons would fi t. Incidentally, this
is the version preferred by Bruna Ferro, owner of
the Carussin estate, one of the very few estates to
make a monovarietal carica l'asino. Ferro has a
soft spot for donkeys—at last count, she owns
eleven of them—and thinks it an amazing coin-
cidence that she bought a vineyard in an area
called Valle Asinari (“valley of the donkeys”),
partly planted to Carica L'asino by the previous
owners, who retrieved the cuttings in the Acqui
area, where Carica L'asino once thrived. Unfortu-
nately Carica L'asino is a common name, used to
describe grape varieties all over Italy (including
Barbera Bianca in Piedmont, though the latter
has a much more compact bunch and no wings),
and so confusion abounds. In fact, it runs so
deep that the variety included in the National
Registry as Carica L'asino appears to have more
in common with Vermentino than with the vari-
ety I describe here. For this reason, it is probably
best to refer to this cultivar by the name Barbas-
sese, but as the latter has not yet been offi cially
accepted, I will continue to use Carica L'asino
instead. The variety is characterized by medium-
large, pyramidal-conical bunches and medium-
large, round berries. It appears to be sensitive to
spring frosts (though budbreak does not occur
particularly early in the season) and to oidium;
old timers have told me these are the two fea-
tures that led to the variety's decline in popular-
ity and plantings. Though Carica L'asino report-
edly ripens late in September, Ferro tells me that
in her neck of the woods it's always harvested in
the fi rst two weeks of the month. In the past, its
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Though few people outside the locals know
the good news, there are a number of monova-
rietal wines made with Caprettone to choose
from. In fact the variety's naturally decent
acidity levels (that's another difference
between it and Coda di Volpe Bianca) are the
reason that some producers have chosen to
make sparkling wines with Caprettone,
though its tartaric acid levels are much lower
than those of Fiano and Greco, for example.
These sparkling wine versions are not unlike a
slightly bigger-bodied, more mineral, and less
fruity Prosecco. The best known DOC wine is
Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Bianco, but
Caprettone plays only a small role in those
blends. To try pure Caprettone wines (lemon,
minerals, white fl owers, unripe apricot), just
look for IGT wines labeled caprettone. Grotte
del Sole makes a rare sweet caprettone, in
honor of traditions of the past.
wines to try:
Cantine Olivella** (Lacryma
Christi del Vesuvio Bianco L'Emblema), Casa
Barone**, Sorrentino** (Natì), Fuocomorto**
(Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Bianco, with
bright straw-yellow color, aromas of magnolia
and broom, and a saline bent to the crunchy
white stone-fruit and citrus fl avors; Pom-
peiano Caprettone, partly aged in chestnut
barrels, with aromas and fl avors of dried apri-
cots, resin, and fresh white fl owers). For spar-
kling wine, try Casa Setaro* (Caprettone Spu-
mante Metodo Classico). For sweet caprettone,
try Grotta del Sole* (Lacryma Christi del Vesu-
vio Dolce). All these wines are 100 percent
Caprettone.
