Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
much a right bank variety: its thin skins are
especially prone to sunburn. In fact, of all
native grapes of the Valle d'Aosta, only Petit
Rouge is more susceptible to the effects of
excessive sunlight. Today, in an effort to maxi-
mize ripeness and produce wines that show all
of Fumin's considerable potential, it receives
the benefi ts of full southern exposures (with
adequate leaf canopy protection, no doubt) and
is never planted above six hundred meters
above sea level. The only other real problem
Fumin presents is “that its shoots break easily,”
says Costantino Charrère of Les Cretes.
Fumin bunches are medium-small (160-
200 grams on average), pyramidal, and com-
pact; its berries are medium-small, round, and
covered in bloom. In fact, Fumin's name
derives from this thick white bloom, which
gives it an ash-like, smoky appearance (
fumin
refers to
fumo,
or smoky). There are currently
no commercial clones of Fumin available, but
the Institut Agricole Régional, having con-
ducted a massal selection in 1998, is currently
completing clonal selection work. A suitable
clone appears to have been identifi ed for propa-
gation (private communication). Due to the
lack of nursery material and of in-depth univer-
sity studies and information regarding it,
Fumin is currently planted only on the SO4
rootstock, usually a rather sorry excuse of a
rootstock, given its superfi cial root system. SO4
does offer the advantage of adaptability and
good productivity, however, and therefore rep-
resents an adequate choice for a variety we have
only empiric knowledge of.
Fumin has rebounded brilliantly from ini-
tial academic-inspired setbacks and is today the
most cultivated red variety of the central third
of Valle d'Aosta (where most of the region's
grape cultivation takes place). Though this
amounts to just slightly over 20 hectares, it's
still a considerable amount given that the vari-
ety had almost completely disappeared and that
the whole region only has about 480 hectares
under vine. Sales of nursery cuttings show that
while slightly more than fi ve thousand Fumin
vines were produced in 1998, over twenty thou-
sand were in 2004, indicating increased inter-
est in the variety. I really believe that Fumin is
an exciting native Italian grape variety, capable
of producing wines that can be quite special. It
grows nowhere else in the world, and nowhere
else in Italy.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
At its best, a Fumin wine is perfumed and
spicy, with a good combination of red-fruit fl a-
vors, extract, acid, and tannins. It is also a wine
that has demonstrated an uncanny ability to
age well and improve over time. It does not have
the seemingly endless capacity for aging of a
Barolo or Brunello, but in my experience, the
better wines improve and last for seven to ten
years—surely longevity of this sort is a compo-
nent of greatness in wine. More and more pro-
ducers have a fumin in their estate portfolio;
whereas there were no monovarietal fumin
bottlings as recently as the 1990s, there are at
least eight very valid ones on the market today.
Once little thought of, Fumin is now here with
us to stay.
Textural toughness can be a problem in
Fumin wines: hence, fermentations are kept
short and extended skin contact is avoided, as
color is never a problem with Fumin. For the
same reason (a wealth of polyphenols), small
oak barrels are preferred for the aging process
to smooth the fi nal wine. Costantino Charrère,
owner of Les Cretes, Valle d'Aosta's most
famous estate, knows Fumin better than any-
one else and deserves credit for having been the
fi rst to bring monovarietal fumin to everyone's
attention. He has tried air-drying a portion of
the grapes in an effort to obtain a smoother,
creamier wine, and was happy with the result
but cautions that too high a percentage of air-
dried grapes makes the wine less typical. Well-
made fumin has a lovely, intense aroma of
black pepper, red fruits, and sweet spices, with
a green, herbal, peppery undercurrent never
too far away. It can be fl eshy and smooth, but
the generally high acidity keeps it light and
lively on the palate, leaving one with the impres-
sion of a vibrant, medium-bodied, perfumed
