Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
between Humagne Rouge and the real Corna-
lin. Furthermore, via recent DNA analysis, the
study by Vouillamoz et al. has established that
Cornalin is an offspring of Rouge du Pays and
an unknown parent; in turn, Rouge du Pays is
the son of Mayolet and Petit Rouge, two other
Valle d'Aosta native grapes. Therefore, Petit
Rouge and Mayolet are the grandparents of
Cornalin.
All these semantic gymnastics would have
very little meaning if Cornalin weren't an excel-
lent grape with which to make wine. Thus in
1997 the Institut Agricole Régional, after local-
izing a number of old Cornalin vines in the
central valley, initiated a program of massal
selection. The mother plants were evaluated for
presence of viral diseases via ELISA laboratory
tests, reliability of yields, and quality of the
wines. In 2000, vines deemed most suitable for
quality wine production were multiplied and
planted in the experimental vineyards of the
institute, for an unbelievable total of fi fty-nine
different biotypes. The result of all this work is
that in the past ten years, there has been no
other native variety in Valle d'Aosta that has
grown faster in number of hectares planted or
new wines produced than Cornalin.
Cornalin is characterized by a medium-
small, pyramidal or cylindrical bunch, more or
less tightly packed depending on the biotype,
with medium-small, dark-blue, round berries.
It ripens in October, and is both vigorous and a
dependable producer. Today, Cornalin in Italy
grows only in Valle d'Aosta, over a very large
area ranging from Arnad to Arvier, with vine-
yards planted up to seven hundred meters
above sea level. Higher altitudes are dangerous
for Cornalin as it fails to ripen in cold microcli-
mates; but it cannot be planted in lowland
warmer microclimates either, since it drops
acidity too fast and then gives fl abby, uninter-
esting wines.
d'Aosta cornalin. The sine qua non of cornalin,
a point I cannot stress enough, is that this wine
really needs to age to show off all of its consid-
erable potential; it is not a wine to buy and
open the same night, but rather to cellar for
four to fi ve years from the vintage. The color is
pretty, usually medium purple-red with garnet
highlights; intense redcurrant and delicately
smoky-spicy aromas and f lavors (pepper,
vanilla, thyme, tobacco) are typical, as are
medium-low acidity, and a very strong fi nish-
ing tannic kick. When young, the wine seems
a little dull and monolithic, with little in the
way of nuance and complexity to boast about. It
stands up very well to oak aging, but this needs
to be done judiciously, as the wine risks becom-
ing too tannic and chunky. Any cornalin worth
its name on the label will always have an aus-
tere mouthfeel to it; charming is not how I
would describe this wine, but its refi ned, deli-
cately smoky, red berried and peppery elegance
is hard to resist.
wines to try: Grosjean*** (Vigne Rovettaz),
Renato Anselmet*** (Broblan), Feudo di San
Maurizio***, La Vrille**, Le Clocher**, Les
Granges**, IAR**, Rosset** (a rare unoaked
example).
Cornetta
where it's found: Umbria. national regis-
try code number: not registered. color: red.
Cornetta takes its name from its berries,
which are horn-shaped ( corno means “horn”)
when not yet fully ripe but ultimately elongate
and become oval in shape. As this grape is also
called Vernaccia Nera, is Cornetta a distinct
Umbrian variety or is it a Vernaccia Nera bio-
type? (Of course, I am referring to the true
Italian native Vernaccia Nera, which I can't
believe is related to Grenache or Garnacha,
despite what has been written elsewhere—see
VERNACCIA GROUP, chapter 3.) In the
absence of carefully matched ampelographic
observation and corresponding genetic analysis
Which Wines to Choose and Why
In addition to being used in Valle d'Aosta DOC
blends such as Torrette, this grape has been
awarded its own subdenomination, Valle
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