Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
but the wine. We all have favorite wines, and
one of mine is made with this misunderstood
but lovely variety, one of the prettiest in Italy.
No less than world-renowned winemaker
Donato Lanati also loves it (he dedicated his
enology school thesis to Grignolino), so I'm not
alone. And the fact that an educated French
wine palate such as that of my never-forgotten
girlfriend was also enthralled by Grignolino's
charms speaks volumes of what the cultivar
can deliver, in the right hands.
A native to the Monferrato Hills of Pied-
mont between the two towns of Asti and Casale,
Grignolino was once also called Balestra, Ver-
besino, Arlandino, Rossetto, and especially
Barbesino in Piedmont and Lombardy. It is very
rare in the latter region today, whereas centu-
ries back, in the countryside around the town of
Bobbio, even a white-berried Grignolino Bianco
could be found, though the red and white
Grignolino cultivars are believed to unrelated.
Grignolino was abundant and highly
thought of as early as the thirteenth century:
from legal documents dated between 1246 and
1287 (preserved in the capitulary archives of the
cathedral at Casale Monferrato), we know that
property rentals were regulated by contracts
that also strictly forbade tampering with Barbe-
sino vines. The wine was especially appreciated
for its use in making
chiaretti,
light red wines
that were widely diffused in Piedmont in the
sixteenth century. Di Rovasenda (1877) thought
the wine was “extremely fi ne” and was also
aware that the variety needed specifi c soils to
show its best. No less a bon vivant than Carlo
Gonzaga of Spain appreciated Barbesino wines.
In fact, Grignolino wines were very popular
with the noblemen of Piedmont, who prized the
wine's light hue and refi ned mouthfeel. Back
then, people appreciated the stark contrast of
Grignolino wines with the deep hues and in-
your-face aromas and fl avors of wines made
with Barbera, viewed not just as peasant wines,
but
for
peasants. How times change: in those
days, Grignolino wines fetched the same prices
as Barolos, and Grignolino sparkling wines
(rare nowadays) were especially popular. Even-
tually, the name Barbesino gave way to Grigno-
lino: not surprisingly, since the latter was com-
monly used in Asti (where rich bankers did
much to promote the wine's merits), and
because the word
grignolino
is linked to Pied-
montese dialect, in which the word
grignolè
refers to the grimaces (or grating of one's teeth)
made when biting into the high acid and tannic
Grignolino berries. Another hypothesis is that
the word means “pips,” a reference to the fact
that Grignolino has, on average, more pips per
berry than other cultivars (Grignolino has at
least three while most others have two).
In light of Grignolino's delicate aromas,
reminiscent of white wines, and the pale hue of
the berries, some researchers and producers
have told me that they believe Grignolino may
be a centuries-long mutation of what was origi-
nally a white grape, but I know of no hard evi-
dence of this.
The variety demands well-exposed sites
with plenty of sunlight, and such top-quality
spots, at least in the Langhe, are usually
reserved for varieties that bring better fi nancial
returns, such as Nebbiolo (this is why Grigno-
lino has virtually disappeared there). It also
needs well-ventilated sites, to ward off the risk
of rot due to its compact bunch. The irony is
that in the nineteenth century, the majority of
Grignolino wines were produced in the Langhe
by estates that bought the grapes grown in the
Astigiano and Monferrato.
Grignolino has medium to large pyramid-
shaped, very long, compact bunches, with up to
three wings; the berries themselves are
medium-small, and the thin skins have a pretty
blue-red hue. However, Grignolino has a huge
amount of intravarietal variability, which can
lead to wildly different-looking vines (and
wines) across producers and areas. In addition
to many biotypes, there is also a series of
clones: R1, CVT AT 261, CVT AT 275, AL-
GRI-79, AL-GRI-87, and CVT 113. Many of
the older grapevines are also virus affected,
and the cultivar suffers from
millerandage.
As if
that wasn't enough, Grignolino succumbs eas-
ily to common grapevine diseases and yields
