Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
all. With Ciliegiolo, he likes to perform a care-
ful deleafi ng very early in the season, to allow
easier penetration of breezes, but also so that
the berries may develop thicker skins in
response to the sunlight. “It's almost too gener-
ous and vigorous,” adds Castelli. “Even more
than with other varieties, the best wines are
invariably made with older vines with deep root
systems.” Not surprisingly, given that Ciliegiolo
has lived in the hottest parts of Tuscany for cen-
turies, it tolerates heat and drought very well
(old vines certainly help in this respect): unlike
Sangiovese, the metabolism of which tends to
shut off in extreme conditions, so that grapes
cook rather than ripen, Ciliegiolo's does not.
You might say that Ciliegiolo is an excellent
example of how specifi c grape varieties are, or
become, particularly suited to their habitat over
centuries: there's a reason why grapes are
native or local.
The estate most intimately associated with
Ciliegiolo in recent years has been Tuscany's
Sassotondo, where owners Carla Benini and
Edoardo Ventimiglia have worked closely with
their winemaker, Attilio Pagli, to promote the
variety. Pagli is a highly respected winemaker
who has had starring roles in wineries in and
out of Italy (witness his great Argentinean Mal-
becs) and fell in love with Ciliegiolo in 1988,
just by looking at the bunches and big red ber-
ries. “I fi rst encountered Ciliegiolo in an estate
bought by Rascioni and Ceconello, who wanted
to uproot it,” he says. “But since the grapes were
juicy and sweet, I thought that trying Ciliegiolo
on its own was worth a shot. Time proved us
right, though the start wasn't easy. We had to
replant many vines and perform numerous
microvinifi cations to get it just right. Luck
played a role too: the 1988 vintage was a stellar
one in Tuscany and so our fi rst-ever Ciliegiolo
wine was very impressive, setting our resolve
for future vintages. However, we hadn't grasped
Ciliegiolo's full potential at the time. We still
thought it was good only for simple, everyday
wines.” When Pagli fi rst met Edoardo and
Carla at Sassotondo nine years ago, he realized
they owned an old Ciliegiolo vineyard, and he
suggested running with it. Given the amazing
success of Sassotondo's Ciliegiolo wines, it's
fair to say they've never looked back.
In Italy, Ciliegiolo is mainly grown in Tus-
cany, though there is probably more than com-
monly believed in Umbria and Lazio, with
small plantings in Liguria and Puglia. In fact,
it's likely to be found all over central Italy. In
Tuscany, its growth is concentrated in the
southeastern coastal area known as Maremma,
around the beautiful town of Lucca, and, of
course, in both Chianti and Montalcino, as well
as in the Colline Lucchesi and Montecarlo.
Importantly, though there is a lot of Ciliegiolo
in Chianti, Ciliegiolo doesn't ripen well in this
cooler part of Tuscany; it's only in Maremma's
sunny, hot, dry climate that it comes into its
own. That said, excessive heat can be too much
of a good thing, as low acidity is a potential
Achilles's heel for Ciliegiolo. The variety per-
forms better in the inland areas of Maremma,
around Pitigliano or Scansano, where summer
days are on average fi ve degrees Celsius cooler
than in coastal Maremma, and where the vol-
canic, mineral soils offer excellent drainage
(Ciliegiolo likes tufa soils).
Outside Italy, Ciliegiolo has been planted in
the United States and Argentina, but given the
variety's heat tolerance and drought resistance,
it seems to me like it would be a very good
match for many viticultural areas in the New
World. Therefore, it's not surprising to see that
University of California at Davis viticulture
specialists are conducting fi eld trials to evalu-
ate Ciliegiolo (among other varieties) for qual-
ity and economic suitability in California's hot
and dry San Joaquin Valley.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Though Ciliegiolo is recommended in about
twenty different DOC wines and twice as many
IGT blends, monovarietal wines are rare,
though on the increase. DOC wines outside
Tuscany include Rosso Orvietano Ciliegiolo
from Umbria (though the most interesting
Umbrian wines are still IGTs) and Golfo del
Tigullio and Colli di Luni from Liguria.
