Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
jack-of-all-trades, Negro Amaro makes a range
of wines, from inexpensive and uncomplicated
to rich and full-bodied, plus some of Italy's best
rosato
wines. The latter are among the best
rosa-
tos
of Italy, along with Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo and
Chiaretto del Garda.
When well made, Negro Amaro wines have
typical aromas of black fruit, tobacco, and a
characteristic note of shoe polish. On the palate
the wine can be rich and suave or light and
refreshing. The wine has always been used to
add alcohol and size to many anemic wines
made in central and northern Italy, because at
high yields Negro Amaro has plenty of alcohol
but little in the way of distractingly fl oral or
fruity aromas. It is therefore an ideal comple-
mentary grape, though sometimes, and some
would write many times, its presence in the
blend is only as an alcoholic support. Word has
it that Negro Amaro is often added to famous
Italian wines outside Puglia too, though it's not
offi cially allowed in famous non-Puglian DOC
blends. Still, producers whisper that there is a
veritable lake of Negro Amaro-fi lled cisterns
traveling up and down the country.
The
rosato
wines can be delicious, though a
number are plagued by unclean aromas and
faulty winemaking, and others have a little too
much residual sugar for my taste. When good,
they're very good, with aromas and fl avors of
almond fl owers, wild strawberries, and fresh
citrus; they're also much darker in color than
the
rosato
wines of the Garda or France's Pro-
vence; and though some wine lovers might
wince at the cherry-ade color of Puglian
rosatos,
these wines can be remarkably interesting and
delightful. Piernicola Leone de Castris, of the
famous family estate in Puglia that was the
fi rst to bottle a
rosato
in Italy, says that “Puglian
rosato
wines are bright, medium-pale red: it's
tradition, not just a marketing ploy, and what
our customers want. Lighter and salmon-toned
as they do elsewhere is not necessarily better.”
Damiano Calò of Rosa del Golfo (another of
Italy's best
rosato
producers) adds, “Problem is,
Provence rosés are so famous that wine lovers
have come to expect all rosés or
rosato
wines to
be of that very pale
oeil de perdrix
color, while
ours are redder and fruitier. My point being
that pale colors and intensity of sweet fruit
don't always go together.” When all is said and
done, with Negro Amaro the best of all possible
worlds is at your lips:
rosso
and
rosato
wines that
are extremely refi ned and interesting. Just
beware the collection of much less distin-
guished wines.
wines to try:
Agricole Vallone*** (Gratic-
ciaia, from lightly air-dried grapes, featuring a
unique creamy texture and bright rich red-
cherry and sweet spice fl avors; not unlike an
Amarone, but with less tannins and the higher
drinkability of Negro Amaro), Taurino***
(Patriglione, also made from lightly air-dried
grapes), Candido** (Duca D'Aragona, but
there's Montepulciano mixed in), Conti Zecca*
(Negramaro; a good, simple, everyday wine).
For Salice Salentino, try: Agricole Vallone**
(Vereto Riserva), Leone de Castris** (Riserva),
Mocavero*, Cantele*, and Due Palme*. For
rosato,
try: Rosa del Golfo*** (both the oak-
aged Vigna Mazzì and the more traditional
Rosa del Golfo), Leone de Castris*** (Five
Roses, Five Roses Anniversario), Candido**
(Le Pozzelle Rosato), Alessandro Bonsegna**
(Nardò Danza della Contessa), Felline** (Vigna
Rosa), and Racemi** (Anarkos; used to be
made with Ottavianello—France's Cinsault—
but its makeup has since changed to mainly
Negro Amaro).
Nerello Cappuccio
where it's found:
Sicily, Calabria.
national
registry code number:
164.
color:
red.
Surprisingly little is known about this vari-
ety, though it has always been an important
part of the viticulture of Etna's volcano and the
immediate surroundings. Geremia (1834) was
the fi rst to describe its presence in the areas of
Trescagni and Viagrande near Catania. Then in
1878, the
Bollettini ampelografi ci
noted a Nerello
Ammantellato in the province of Catania and a
Niureddu Ammantiddatu in the province of
