Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
crossings; Incrocio Bianco Fedit 51 is an exam-
ple. In general, Garganega is very vigorous
(yields need to be reigned in) but is sensitive to
winter cold and common grapevine diseases
and suffers desiccation of the stalk. It's usually
harvested in September. There are also two reg-
istered clones of Grecanico Dorato: VCR 13 and
Regione Sicilia 94.
At more than twelve thousand hectares, this
variety is the twelfth most commonly grown
wine grape in Italy (based on 2010 data); it's
almost ubiquitous in the western part of
Veneto, around the towns of Soave and Gam-
bellara, but is also grown in Lombardy, Emilia-
Romagna, Lazio, Umbria, and Sicily. As Gre-
canico Dorato it is found all over Sicily and not
in small quantities. There were roughly fi ve
thousand hectares planted as of 2010, making
it the ninth most-planted variety in Sicily
(slightly more than 4 percent of all land on the
island devoted to grapevine cultivation), mainly
around Trapani and Marsala. Interestingly, for
such a common grape in Italy, and one that has
obviously been around for centuries (given its
complex relationships to many other Italian
varieties), Garganega has not been planted
much outside the country. A little is grown in
Australia.
produce wines with good concentrations of
norisoprenoids (bright aromas of ripe fruit and
hay) and terpenes (fl oral aromas). A well-made
non-oaked Garganega wine is steely and min-
eral, with bright white fl ower, apricot, fresh
citrus, and Golden Delicious apple aromas and
fl avors.
Angelo Sabbadin, the sommelier at the
famous three-Michelin-star restaurant Le
Calandre near Padua in Veneto, is amazed at
how well pure Garganega wines age: “I fi nd
that after eight to twelve years the wines resem-
ble some of the great Loire wines made with
Chenin Blanc and have a delicacy and complex-
ity that are truly rare.” Alessandro Pipero,
another longtime sommelier of Michelin-
starred restaurants who has worked mainly in
and around Rome and now at the one-Michelin-
star restaurant in Rome that carries his name,
agrees: “I think a couple of non-oaked pure
Garganega wines are among Italy's ten best
white wines, and by a wide margin.”
Sweet whites called Recioto di Soave and
Recioto di Gambellara are also good. The
former is rich, honeyed, and fl oral; the latter
mineral and often made in a more oxidative
style; when well made, these are among Italy's
half dozen best sweet wines. True Recioto is
never marked by noble rot, though some pro-
ducers have recently tended to make it from
Botrytis cinerea
-affected grapes, banking per-
haps on a more international appeal and greater
complexity. Wine lovers ought to know that
such wines are very good indeed but are not
traditional for the area.
In Sicily, Grecanico Dorato is produced
either as a monovarietal wine or, more com-
monly, as a blending grape with other Sicilian
varieties. Your best bet for good Grecanico
wines is the Alcamo DOC, though DOCs Delia
Nivolelli, Contessa Entellina, and Contea di
Scalafani can be good too. It can be blended
with any number of varieties, such as Inzolia
(adds acidity) and Chardonnay (inevitably over-
powers the more delicate Grecanico Dorato, so
this is a usually pointless blend). You'll need to
read back labels to see if what you have chosen
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Today, 100 percent pure Garganega wines are
among the best white wines Italy produces;
indeed, for some experts, the best of all. Most
famous are DOCGs Soave and Gambellara, but
DOC Bianco di Custoza wines are also notewor-
thy. Clearly, Soave is the most famous wine. It
is made east of Verona, its DOCG territory
spanning an area from San Martino Buon
Albergo to San Bonifacio; the Soave Classico
zone, centered around the towns of Soave and
Monteforte d'Alpone, is north of San Bonifacio.
Garganega is often blended with 10-20 percent
other varieties, such as Trebbiano di Soave
(which is Verdicchio) and even (perish the
thought) Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc,
which only masks Garganega's delicate quali-
ties and charms. Almost all Garganega clones
