Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Obviously, further studies are required, possi-
bly with more SSR loci investigated, but appar-
ently there may be a healthy number of distinct
Girò-Something varieties growing on the
island. As these varieties have lived for centu-
ries in remote inland, mountainous areas of the
island, genetic contamination was very unlikely,
and this helped maintain the island's biodiver-
sity. Whether these Girò varieties are truly dis-
tinct and what they might provide to the world
of wine drinkers will require a great deal more
work and time, but I for one am happy to know
these vines have survived. Who knows, their
story might yet hold more interesting twists for
all of us.
Girò's cultivation was encouraged by the
Piedmontese, who also briefl y dominated Sar-
dinia, and especially the Marquis di Rivarolo.
Unfortunately, Girò was another casualty of
phylloxera (or rather, the post-phylloxera period)
when farmers took to planting other varieties
that were easier to grow and promised larger
yields. Girò has medium to medium-large
bunches and medium-sized berries; the former
are usually pyramidal or conical, while the lat-
ter are round. It wants relatively warm and dry
microclimates and deep, marly-clay soils; its
grapes are robustly resistant to the vagaries of
weather, while they have a harder time with
most common diseases and grapevine pests. It
usually ripens in September. It grows around
Sassari and the Basso Campidano, in the prov-
ince of Cagliari, and to a lesser extent near Oris-
tano. Unfortunately, Girò's cultivation is on the
decline: whereas roughly 500 hectares were
under vine in 1990, only 121 remained in 2009.
Of course, statistics such as these might just be
the result of more accurate ampelographic
reconnaissance, but given that Girò is used to
make mainly sweet wines and that such wines
have trouble selling nowadays, it might be that
Girò really is falling by the wayside. A shame,
given the grape's and wine's unique charms.
matic sweet reds like Aleatico and many differ-
ent Malvasia s abound in Italy); it is easy to
drink, light, and refreshing. In this style, the
wine to try is DOC Girò di Cagliari, which
demands that no less than 100 percent Girò be
used. Girò is available in a dry, sweet, liquoroso
secco (fortifi ed dry) and liquoroso dolce (fortifi ed
sweet) but is almost always found in the sweet
version. The latter two can also be made as ris-
erva. Girò can also be used in roughly fi fteen
different IGT blends such as Barbagia, Isola dei
Nuraghi, Planargia, Romangia, Trexenta, and
Valle del Tirso.
Girò is a lovely wine and deserves to be bet-
ter known, exuding lovely aromas of candied
red cherries, milk chocolate, and plums macer-
ated in alcohol. On the palate it is delicately
sweet and spicy, with abundant notes of very
ripe red fruit. It generally strikes me as a great
deal more refi ned than other sweet red wines
made all over the world. It is not a dark wine, as
the variety has possibly the lowest anthocyanin
concentrations of any Sardinian red grape
(130-250 milligrams per kilogram of catechin).
The sweet versions are especially noteworthy
and age well.
wines to try: Panevino*** (Giròtondo; a very
powerful, alcoholic rendition) and Meloni
Vini** (Donna Jolanda; a more typical, well-
made girò).
Glera
where it's found: Veneto, FVG. national
registry code number: 200. color: white.
The exact origin of Glera, once better known
as Prosecco (a name now used only to describe
the wine, though this is the subject of some
debate), remains unclear. According to Villi-
franchi (1773) and other experts, Glera is native
to the Carso Triestino in Friuli Venezia Giulia
(where the town of Prosecco is found); from
there it moved into Veneto's Treviso area (where
Prosecco wines are made) and then farther east
to the region's volcanic Colli Euganei, where
the grape is called Serprina (some view Ser-
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Girò is used to make a rare example of a sweet
red wine that is not particularly aromatic (aro-
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