Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
There are also late-harvest or air-dried sweet
Fiano wines, though I don't particularly like
them, fi nding the grape does best as a dry wine.
In a study by Genovese, Gambuti, Piombino,
and Moio (2007), the sensory descriptors of
sweet fi ano wine (citrus jam, dried apricot,
dried fi gs, prune, honey, and coconut) were
evaluated biochemically; the researchers found
higher concentrations of thirty-fi ve free volatile
compounds (mostly terpenes, lactones, alde-
hydes) in the sweet Fiano wines than in the dry
wines. The main odor-impacting compounds
in sweet Fiano wines were terpenes such as
nerol, geraniol, and linalool (orange fl owers);
and lactones such as γ-nonalactone (coconut),
δ-decalactone and γ-decalactone (apricot), and
1-octen-3-ol (mushroom). Apparently, these dif-
ferences are due to the drying process, which
allows concentration of varietal aromatic com-
pounds already present in the Fiano grape, as
well as an easier transfer of these from skins to
must during vinifi cation.
In California, Scribner's Bend (Novantina),
Solis Winery (their 2011 Estate Fiano bottling
won gold and best of region at the California
State Fair Wine competition and silver at the
Los Angeles International Wine Competition),
Giannelli, and Seghesio all make noteworthy
Fiano wines. In Australia, Barossa Valley's Sal-
tram (Winemaker's Selection) and Jacob's
Creek, Riverland's Bassham, Margaret River's
Seven Ochres (a cool climate area allowing for
perfumed, pungent fi ano that is excellent),
Ducks in a Row (an interesting fi ano from
northern Heathcote's red soils), McLaren Vale's
Coriole, Oliver's Taranga, and Fox Gordon
(Princess), Victoria's Rutherglen Estate, Gran-
ite Belt's Witches Falls Winery, and Back Pocket
all make Fiano wines of note, but there are
close to thirty producers now doing very inter-
esting things with the grape. Sure, they're often
quite different from the Fiano wines I am
accustomed to, but I think this is one Italian
white variety where a New World twist is wel-
come. In the end, what we get is a different but
just as interesting rendition of fi ano. Wine is a
voyage, and the great encounters you make—
bottles of Fiano wine included—are what mem-
ories are made of.
wines to try:
For Fiano di Avellino, try: Ciro
Picariello***, Colli di Lapio-Romana Clelio***
(this is arguably Italy's single best white wine),
Mastroberardino*** (especially the library or
vintage bottlings that are released from time to
time), Pietracupa***, Tenuta Sarno 1860***,
Vadiaperti*** (Aiperti), Villa Diamante***
(Vigna della Congregazione), Di Prisco**,
Quintodecimo** (Exultet), Rocca del Prin-
cipe**, Terredora** (CampoRe), and Urciolo**.
For Paestum, try Luigi Maffi ni*** (both the
non-oaked Kratos, my favorite, and the oaked
Pietraincatenata). For Sicily, try Planeta***
(Cometa, a very personal interpretation of
Fiano but utterly irresistible). For Basilicata,
there are no monovarietal fi anos of note, but
there are good blends, such as Paternoster's
Bianco di Corte. For Puglia, try: Conti Zecca*,
Guttarola* (Amphora), Morella* (Mezzo-
giorno), and Valle dell'Asso*.
Fogarina
where it's found:
Emilia-Romagna.
national
registry code number:
393.
color:
white.
Talk about getting no respect: try an Internet
search for the words “Uva Fogarina,” and ten of
the fi rst fi fteen citations refer not to a grape vari-
ety but to an Italian folk song “
Com'è bella l'uva
fogarina,
” very popular in the 1930s. I guess that
if a grape variety was famous and loved enough
to have a song written about it, it got plenty of
respect—but still. Fogarina is also known as
Fogarina di Gualtieri (the name of the town it is
most associated with) and Uva Fogarina, though
this last may be an erroneous synonym, as some
experts believe Uva Fogarina to be a distinct
variety typical of Bologna. According to some
reports, Fogarina was discovered by Carlo
Simonazzo (or Simonazzi), who, while fi shing
the Crostolina River on a November day in 1820,
found grapevines close to the river's edge that
were unlike anything he had ever seen before.
