Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
varieties was Acerbi in 1825—it must have been
no small measure of work, since recent studies
have shown that there are at least 107 other
varieties phenotypically very similar to Enantio.
According to early work done by Grando and
Frisinghelli (1998), Enantio is related to
Marzemino, Teroldego, and other local Tren-
tino varieties; subsequent work by Grando, Ste-
fanini, Zambanini, and Vouillamoz (2006)
related that Enantio is either a parent or prog-
eny of Negrara Trentina. It is possible that a
Lambrusco
variety brought to this part of Italy
from Emilia-Romagna eventually mutated and
changed into what is now Enantio, but the rela-
tionship to Negrara Trentina makes this
hypothesis very unlikely. Scienza, Failla,
Anziani, Mattivi, Villa, Giannazza, Tedesco,
and Benetti (1990) believe that Enantio resulted
from the domestication of local wild grape-
vines, but further proof is probably needed,
particularly given research showing it did not
originate from Veneto (Vantini, Tacconi, Gas-
taldelli, Govoni, Tosi, Malacrinò, Bassi, and
Cattivelli 2003).
Enantio has medium-sized berries and
bunches; the latter usually have one or two
wings and are not very tightly-packed. It is a
vigorous and reliable producer that does best in
gravelly-sandy soils and in drier microclimates,
and is very disease and frost resistant. There is
one offi cial clone available, SMA-ISV 317.
a richer mouthfeel), Letrari*, and the Cantina
Sociale di Avio*.
Erbaluce
where it's found:
Piedmont.
national reg-
istry code number:
78.
color:
white.
Legend has it that the fairy Albaluce blessed
the townspeople of Caluso with Erbaluce as her
gift, hence the variety's name. An ancient culti-
var already known in the seventeenth century
(as Elbalus, fi rst described by Croce), its pale
hue as well as that of its wine explains why
Erbaluce is also called Bianchera, Albaluce and
Ambra; the pale yellow-green color of this vari-
ety's berries when not fully ripe recalls pale
dawn light. In the local dialect, Erbaluce is
called Bian Roustì and Uva Rustìa, a reference
to the color of the berries when ripe (
roustì
and
rustìa
are akin to
arrostito
or
arrosto,
meaning
roasted or to roast)—when ripe its grapes
become amber-pink. Locally, it is still also
called Greco (especially in the area around
Novara), or Greco di Caluso, but this is a mis-
take: though today we know there are some
genetic similarities between Erbaluce and the
Greco of Campania, the two are distinct variet-
ies. On a less scientifi c note, a taste of the two
wines will clearly tell you the varieties are only
distantly related. Labra, Winfield, Ghiani,
Grassi, Sala, Scienza, and Failla (2001) postu-
lated a relationship with France's Clairette vari-
ety but nobody appears to have taken this up,
leading me to think more research is needed.
In the nineteenth century, Erbaluce was also
confused with Arneis and Trebbiano Toscano,
though this is hard to fathom, given how differ-
ent the varieties look. Despite the confusion,
Erbaluce and Caluso have a distinguished his-
tory. Winemaker Piero Genta won a gold medal
for his Caluso wine at the Paris Exhibition of
1855, and reportedly had the honor of seeing his
wine served at the court of Napoleon III (Gnavi
1973). In 1896, Chiei-Gamacchio, the manager
of the Royal Agriculture School in Caluso,
wrote that the wines of Caluso were considered
among the best of the region. Throughout the
Which Wines to Choose and Why
DOC wines are Valdadige-Terre dei Forti Enan-
tio and Valdadige-Terre dei Forti Rosso; in the
latter, it is blended with other varieties. The
wine is bright and juicy, with sneaky concentra-
tion to the red-berry and delicately herbal aro-
mas and fl avors. It has very good acidity and a
richer mouthfeel than most Lambrusco wines,
with a slightly herbal back end.
wines to try:
I Dolomitici*** (Ciso), Val-
larom*** (blessed with vines planted in the
early 1970s, they label their wine Lambrusco a
Foglia Frastagliata), Lorenzo Bongiovanni*
(who air-dries a portion of his grapes to achieve
