Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
between two cultivars is easier to accept (see
BOVALE GRANDE entry). The two varieties look
very much alike, but similar does not mean iden-
tical, and wines made from even similar-looking
biotypes can be different. It's possible that sixty-
or seventy-year-old Bovale Grande vines might
look and behave differently enough from Carig-
nano to give a recognizably different wine, but
this is not clear, given the scarcity of Bovale
Grande planted on the island and the absence of
known monovarietal wines made with it. Such
biotypes can produce very different tasting wines
and a number of experts believe that they ought
to be viewed as separate cultivars, for example
(see CANNONAU and CAGNULARI entries).
Last but not least, the National Registry still lists
Carignano and Bovale Grande separately. Accord-
ing to Reale, Pilla, Angiolillo (2006), Carignano
is also distinct from Tintilia, another Italian vari-
ety typical of Molise.
Carignano's basal buds are very fertile, so
long pruning is unnecessary for large harvests,
but spurs should be left no longer than the two
buds, since long pruning greatly weakens Car-
ignano and, if repeated, may even lead to grape-
vine death. Furthermore, as its grapes cling to
the vine, it is not an ideal variety for mechanical
harvesting. Late budding and late ripening,
Carignano needs heat to reach optimal ripe-
ness and is therefore perfectly suited to Sar-
dinia's warm and dry climate—it doesn't do
well in damp climates. Apparently, the combi-
nation of the island's marine environment and
coastal vineyards encourages more thorough
ripening, though I'm not sure anyone has ever
furnished me with a physiologically plausible
explanation for this (Carignano is wind resis-
tant and even more drought resistant). It does
especially well in extreme conditions that tame
its natural vigor: shallow sandy soils or clay-
sandy soils are best. Stefano Cova, winemaker
of the world-class Mesa estate, believes that
some areas in Sardinia's interior can also yield
noteworthy wines: these are more fertile and
have a larger presence of schists and clay. While
old vines in Sardinia planted on sandy soils are
all ungrafted, younger vineyards planted on
soils with higher clay content benefi t from spe-
cifi c rootstocks like 110 Richter and 140 Rug-
geri that will reduce the variety's naturally high
vigor. Unfortunately, Carignano is very suscep-
tible to oidium, but given its success on the
island (plantings have increased steadily
throughout much of the twentieth century) I
imagine that its exceptional vigor and very high
yields (two hundred hectoliters per hectares,
though old Sardinian vines produce much less)
probably made farmers grin and bear the prob-
lem. The only noteworthy clone is CFC-8 and
few producers count on it, as there are plenty of
old vineyards from which more interesting and
usually higher quality massal selections can be
obtained.
Though grown all over the island, Cari-
gnano is found mainly in the countryside and
seaside of the Sulcis Iglesiente (around the
towns of Giba, Santa Anna Arresi, Santa Gio-
vanni Suergiu, Santadi, Masanais, Carbonia,
Santo Antioco, and Calasetta) where 89 percent
of the almost two thousand hectares on Sar-
dinia are located. It is also grown near Sarra-
bus, Santa Margherita di Pula, and Terralba.
Cova believes that the true
grand cru
s for the
variety are Calasetta and Sant'Antioco, the
coastal vineyards from Porto Pino (near
Sant'Anna Arresi) that stretch toward Is Soli-
nas (near Masainas). These are all character-
ized by mainly sandy and sandy-clay soils. The
vineyards that surround the small pond of
Porto Pino are also exceptional in his view, and
they grow on mainly sandy soils. Of course, if
one accepts the identity between Carignano
and Bovale Grande, as seems likely, then there
are over twenty-fi ve hundred hectares planted
to Carignano on Sardinia alone. The cultivar is
also planted, in far smaller amounts, in Lazio,
Marche, Sicily, and Umbria. Producers have
also told me over the years that Carignano is
grown in Tuscany too, though offi cially it's not
supposed to be.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Carignano is a traditional rather than a native
grape of Italy, but Italians can take solace in the
