Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
yet another example of a grape being attributed
the
Malvasia
moniker just to help improve its
sales (see
MALVASIA
GROUP, chapter 3).
Though Garganega is most likely native to Ita-
ly's north and may have genetic similarities to
typical Veronese cultivars such as Corvina and
Rondinella (Vantini, Tacconi, Gastaldelli, Go-
voni, Tosi, Malacrinò, Bassi, and Cattivelli
2003), it has always been popular enough to
have ties to Italy's south, even besides Greca-
nico Dorato. In fact, Garganega is also a parent
of Puglia's Susumaniello, which is a natural
Garganega × Uva Sogra crossing. The latter is a
rare variety no longer cultivated in Italy that
Zulini, Russo, and Peterlunger (2002) believe
to be identical to the variety called Uva Sacra.
Two distinct Garganega-named cultivars
exist: Garganega Comune and Garganega
Grossa or Garganegona, the offi cial name of
which is now Dorona (see DORONA entry).
The former is the best known and the true Gar-
ganega variety used in production of wines
such as Soave and Gambellara. A very late rip-
ener (even in this era of climate change, Octo-
ber harvests are common), Garganega has a
large, very long grape bunch (reaching 25 cen-
timeters and 500 grams, 185 grams on aver-
age), usually pyramidal-conical in shape. The
round, at times slightly fl attened berries have
yellow-green, thin skin that can turn slightly
amber when the grapes are fully ripe. Gar-
ganega also has myriad biotypes, the result of
strong intravarietal variability; as many as
twenty-four different biotypes have been
described to me by Emanuele Tosi, who is in
charge of the Centro per la Sperimentazione in
Vitivinicoltura della Provincia di Verona. These
biotypes have been well described throughout
history. According to producers I have talked
with over the years, the Garganega biotypes
commonly found in vineyards nowadays are
Garganega Tipica (the standard and most com-
mon Garganega that everyone knows and
loves); Garganega di Dario (mostly located
around Brognoligo near Monteforte d'Alpone,
but stretching as far as Vicenza and character-
ized by larger berries and by ripening earlier
than all other Garganega biotypes; because of
its larger berries it was also called Garganega
Grossa, thereby confusing it with Dorona); Gar-
ganega Verde (characterized by small and
sparse berries, and a sparse bunch; found
mainly on the hillsides west of Soave, around
Costeggiola); and Garganega Agostega (a
poorer-quality, large-berried biotype that is the
earliest ripening of all, hence its name, which
harkens back to August; characterized by low
acidity and a tendency to rot easily, so it's being
phased out, it is still found occasionally in old
vineyards between Soave and Monteforte
d'Alpone). The Garganega biotypes Biforcuta,
Frastagliata, and Rossa are now rare. Of course,
probably the best-known Garganega biotype of
all is Grecanico Dorato of Sicily. Grecanico
Dorato was so named because it was believed to
be a grape of Greek origin and because of its
golden berries. It was probably fi rst described
by Geremia (1835), who distinguished between
two biotypes: Grecanico a Giramoli, with very
sparse grape bunches; and Grecanico a Croce,
with a more compact cluster and two long
wings that make it look almost cross-like (
croce
means cross). Two modern-day biotypes of Gre-
canico Dorato appear to have been found in
Mazara del Vallo and in Belice, but the two look
very similar to me (the wines, tasted from
microvinifi cations, also do not differ sharply).
The typical Grecanico Dorato bunch is large
(average weight three hundred grams), long,
cylindrical, and loosely packed, with one to two
wings. It produces dependably and abun-
dantly.
There are fourteen clones of Garganega
available: Fedit 9 has larger berries and higher
sugar accumulation. ISV-CV 84 (a selection of
the Verde biotype) appears to give more bal-
anced wines and its loosely packed bunch
makes it suitable for air-drying. ISV-CV 11 and
18 have loosely packed bunches and are ideal
for air-drying and sweet wine production, while
ISV-CV 69 (a selection of the di Dario biotype)
is not suitable for either of those objectives, due
to its larger berries and compact bunch. Gar-
ganega has also been the subject of laboratory
