Agriculture Reference
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Mantellato in relation to Nerello Cappuccio,
and vice versa. Nevertheless, this study's results
lead to two possible conclusions: either Nerello
Cappuccio and Carignano are identical, which
is not the case (though there is a resemblance
between them); or, more likely, the real Nerello
Cappuccio was slowly replaced, over time, by
Carignano in many, but not all, Etna vineyards
because of grower preference for the latter vari-
ety. Clearly, even though Carignano replaced
much of Nerello Cappuccio, locals continued to
erroneously refer to it as Nerello Cappuccio.
Ampelographically, Nerello Cappuccio dif-
fers considerably from Nerello Mascalese. Its
medium-sized bunches are pyramidal, com-
pact, and short; Mascalese's are medium-small,
long, winged, and conical-cylindrical. The ber-
ries differ too: Cappuccio's are medium-large,
round, and dark blue, while Mascalese's are
medium-small, oval, and light blue. Cappuc-
cio's early budbreak and fl owering expose it to
the vagaries of weather, and spring frosts and
coulure can be problems. Otherwise, the variety
is easy to grow and not particularly demanding,
with good vigor and production levels, usually
ripening a couple of weeks before Mascalese.
Nerello Cappuccio, just like Nerello Mas-
calese, can be found in small quantities in
Calabria (around Reggio Calabria and Catan-
zaro), but it is more easily found in the north-
eastern corner of Sicily, around Catania and
Messina (where, as recently as the 1950s,
Nerello Cappuccio, or more precisely, what was
thought to be Nerello Cappuccio, represented
more than 30 percent of the area under vine). It
is also present in the southern provinces of
Agrigento, Enna, and Caltanissetta, but I won-
der how much is really planted there. At roughly
720 hectares (based on 2010 data), it is only the
eighteenth most commonly planted variety in
Sicily (representing about 0.62 percent of the
surface under vine on the island).
with Gaglioppo; but complementary colors
aside, uniting two varieties whose monovarietal
wines are each endowed with coarse or rustic
mouthfeels makes little sense to me). Of
course, Nerello Cappuccio is more easily found
in Sicilian wines such as DOC Etna Rosso
(where it can make up to 20 percent of the fi nal
blend) and Faro (with Nerello Mascalese and
Nocera, another local variety) near Messina.
The wine is wonderful and different from
all other Sicilian wines. A monovarietal Nerello
Cappuccio is medium-dark red in hue and
offers aromas and soft fl avors reminiscent of
ripe red cherry (not surprising given the wine's
benzaldehyde content), vanilla, minerals, and
light coffee; it is not particularly fl oral, just like
wines made with Nerello Mascalese, but is cer-
tainly more fl oral than its stablemate. Nerello
Cappuccio wines usually have tougher tannins
too and a slightly coarser quality to them, which
has people thinking, saying, and writing that it
is the lesser of the two Sicilian Nerello s, but I
shudder at such oversimplifi cations. Monovari-
etal wines from Cappuccio have been made for
roughly ten years or less (and then by the only
producer easily available to those who don't live
in Italy or who visit the country for short trips
once a year or so), the grape has always been
confused with other varieties such as Cari-
gnano and Sangiovese, and there is little knowl-
edge of what the best exposures, altitudes, soils,
and rootstocks might be; yet experts are pon-
tifi cating away. Perhaps waiting a little until we
have more data from wines made appropriately
and accurately, for longer than just a decade,
might be a good idea.
wines to try: Benanti*** (who has made a
practically pure version since 1998, in his I
Monovitigni series, thanks to the talented
winemaker Salvo Foti, unfortunately no longer
with the estate; it was Foti who performed the
fi rst massal selection of Nerello Cappuccio in a
vineyard located one thousand meters above
sea level on the southern slope of Etna, and
Benanti then replanted the selected vines on
the northern side), Fessina** (owner Silvia
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Nerello Cappuccio, just like Nerello Mascalese,
is included in the Calabria DOC blends
Lamezia, Savuto, and Scavigna (often blended
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