Major Native and Traditional Grape Varieties - Native Wine Grapes of Italy - page 299

Glera varieties growing in Slovenia's Karst next
to the Italian border are actually Glera Lungo,
and that very few are Glera or other Italian vari-
eties. ˇ tajner, Korosec-Koruzam, Ruzjan, and
Javornik (2008) also showed that not all Slove-
nian Glera varieties are identical to Italy's,
though Bela Glera has been shown to be identi-
cal to Pienel (Crespan, Fabbro, Giannetto,
Meneghetti, Petrussi, Del Zan, and Sivilotti
2011). Furthermore, Maleti ´, Sefc, Steinkellner,
Karoglan Kontic, and Pejic (1999) demon-
strated that Glera is identical to Croatia's Teran
Bijeli, once thought rare but now known to be
growing in Istria; apparently, the variety is also
identical to Slovenia's Briˇka Glera and
ˇ teverjana ( ˇ tajner, Korosec-Koruzam, Ruzjan,
and Javornik 2008). Finally, recent genetic pro-
filing by Crespan, Crespan, Giannetto,
Meneghetto, and Costacurta (2007) has shown
that Glera and Malvasia Bianca Lunga are the
parents of Vitovska, a grape common in Friuli
Venezia Giulia. Glera was also crossed with
Cabernet Sauvignon to obtain Incrocio Man-
zoni 2.15.
Glera grows mainly in Veneto, most
famously in the Conegliano and Valdobbiadene
zones, as well as in the Colli Asolani. It is also
extensively planted in Friuli Venezia Giulia,
where it is forcing out other natives such as
Friulano, and there's a little growing in Lom-
bardy too, around Bergamo. It has also been
planted in Argentina and many different wine
regions of Australia, from Adelaide Hills to
Upper Goulburn and Murray Darling.

vineyards or other terroirs. Interestingly, the
traditional recipe for Prosecco called for one-
third each of Glera, Bianchetta Trevigiana, and
Verdiso: much as with the original blend
invented by Ricasoli for Chianti, each of these
grapes was felt to contribute something impor-
tant to the fi nal wine. Modern-day Prosecco
allows only a maximum 15 percent of Bian-
chetta Trevigiana and Verdiso combined, and
the wine is none the better for it. In any case,
great Prosecco reminds you of buttercups,
green apples, and white peaches (and for this
reason, the famous Bellini cocktail ought to be
made with Prosecco and white, not yellow,
peach juice).
Even better Glera wines are made in the
DOCG Cartizze, from grapes grown on the spe-
cifi c hill of Cartizze that allows for fuller-bod-
ied wines that always carry a little residual
sugar. Therefore, Cartizze is always a little
sweet, but acidities are such that the wine tastes
off-dry. Caveat emptor: given the ludicrous
number of Cartizze bottlings sold all over the
world, and the small size of the Cartizze hill
(and hence the limited number of vines that
grow there), it's better to stick with known pro-
ducers to be assured of authenticity. Like all
other sparkling wines, Prosecco can come in
different levels of sweetness, labeled extra brut
(the driest), brut, extra dry (off-dry), and dry
(the sweetest; though, thanks to the carbon
dioxide and the acidity, the wine never seems
sweet). Other DOC wines of interest are the
Colli Euganei Serprino (100 percent Glera) and
Colli Asolani Prosecco. Prosecco remains a spe-
cialty of the Treviso area, where roughly 6,500
of the 7,000 total hectares planted to Glera are
found. For comparison, there are only one hun-
dred hectares of Glera in the DOC Colli Euga-
nei. Glera is also an important part of the blend
used to make the sweet passito called Torchiato
di Fregona; and one producer, Bisol, makes a
sweet dessert-style wine even in the heart of the
Prosecco production zone.
In Australia, Glera wines of note are being
produced by Box Grove Vineyard, Boyntons
Feathertop, Brown Brothers, Chrismont (in the

Which Wines to Choose and Why
The most important wine is clearly the DOCG
Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco (mini-
mum 85 percent Glera and 15 percent other
varieties such as local natives Bianchetta Trevi-
giana and Verdiso, though unfortunately some
producers use Chardonnay, which in my view is
too overpowering for Glera). High hillside vine-
yards with full southern exposure allow Glera
to develop unusually complex and refi ned fra-
grances and fl avors, especially compared to
those found in many wines made in fl atland