Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Today Marzemina Bianca is found around
the cities of Padova, Treviso, and Vicenza in
Veneto and near Brescia in Lombardy, but there
are less than one hundred hectares planted to it
(based on 2010 data).
defi nitive proof. Also known as Barzamino and
Berzemino, this variety's origins are complex,
only recently becoming better understood. Ini-
tially, researchers postulated that Marzemino
originated in the Middle East, moving along
the trade routes from Asia Minor to ancient
Greece, brought there by the Euboeans from
Cyprus, where it was known as Lef kas (Labra,
Imazio, Grassi, Rossoni, Citterio, Sgorbati, et
al. 2003). In Greece it was renamed, depending
on where it was grown, as Barzavi, Marzavi,
Mavro, and Vartzami (apparently, the latter
name is still used on the island of Corfù). From
Corfù, it was transported along the Adriatic
coast to Dalmatia and fi nally into northeastern
and central Italy. Eventually, Venetian domi-
nance extended west and Marzemino arrived in
Trentino and Lombardy (visitors to the beauti-
ful city of Bergamo, north of Milan, will have
noted statues and emblems of Saint Mark's lion
all over the Città Vecchia).
However, this erudite theory has been upset
by recent genetic work shedding light on the
history of Lagrein, a very close relative of
Marzemino. In 2006, Vouillamoz and Grando
demonstrated that Marzemino and Lagrein are
offspring of Teroldego and another as yet un-
identifi ed parent, perhaps a progeny of Pinot
Nero. It seems therefore unlikely, given this
parentage, that Marzemino could hail from the
Middle East. Marzemino is also a parent of
Marzemina Bianca and Refosco del Peduncolo
Rosso.
In Italy, Marzemino's presence is first
acknowledged in fourteenth-century docu-
ments that call it Marcenium, along with the
easier to recognize Sclavum and Garganicum.
Professor Enrico Peterluger of the University of
Udine cites a 1409 banquet held in Cividale in
honor of Pope Gregory XII at which marzemino
(made near the Friuli Venezia Giulia town of
Gradiscutta) was one of the wines served. This
in itself tells us that Marzemino was already
held in high esteem: by 1412 it was considered
one of the best varieties grown in the province
of Vicenza (Varanini 1988). By the sixteenth,
seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, Gallo
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Marzemina Bianca is used in the DOC blends
Colli Euganei, Colli di Conegliano, and Ba-
gnoli, as well as in Prosecco. Small percentages
are also employed in local sweet wines such as
Torchiato di Fregona and Breganze's Torcolato.
Monovarietal examples can be found among
IGT wines such as Marca Trevigiana, Delle
Venezie, and Colli Trevigiani. In the past it was
also used to improve the oceans of mediocre, or
at best ordinary, table wine made in the region,
but I think Marzemina Bianca is capable of pro-
ducing wines of much greater interest; it would
be fascinating to see what would result from
limiting yields and going the monovarietal
route. Of course, some monovarietal examples
exist, and with such good acidity levels that
many use Marzemina Bianca for sparkling
wine production. The delicate aromas and fl a-
vors recall buttercups, lilies, fresh herbs, lime,
and green apples. It's a very nice wine that dou-
bles as an aperitif and as a sparring partner for
simply prepared fi sh and vegetable dishes. Due
to the wine's intrinsic qualities and the interest
in all things native, more producers have
started bottling monovarietal versions or are
thinking about it.
wines to try:
Firmino Miotti*** (Sampagna)
and Casa Roma**.
Marzemino
where it's found:
Trentino, Veneto, Emilia-
Romagna.
national registry code number:
144.
color:
red.
The origin of Marzemino's name is unclear:
most experts believe it derives from the town of
Merzifon in Asia Minor or from Marzemin in
Austria, as postulated by Odart in 1874, or from
Marzèmini, a port in Sicily, but there is no
