Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Maestrelli sources fruit from the same vineyard
as Benanti), and Cummo* (1908).
The cultivar has therefore become the sub-
ject of numerous studies. According to Cipri-
ani, Spadotto, Jurman, Di Gaspero, Crespan,
Meneghetti, et al. (2010), Nerello Mascalese is
a natural crossing of Sangiovese and Manto-
nico Bianco, which would also make it a sibling
of Gaglioppo. These fi ndings confi rmed previ-
ous results obtained by Di Vecchi Staraz, Band-
inelli, Boselli, This, Boursiquot, Laucou,
Lacombe, and Varès (2007), who had observed
that Nerello Mascalese and Gaglioppo were
both members of the extended Sangiovese fam-
ily. A relationship between Nerello Mascalese
and Carricante has also been suggested
recently, which is hardly surprising, given that
the two varieties have coexisted in the same
fi nite space (Etna) for centuries. Last but not
least, just as with Nerello Cappuccio, a study by
Branzanti, Brancadoro, Scienza, Fichera, and
Raiti (2010) showed that many genetically dis-
tinct varieties are planted in what were thought
to be vineyards of nothing but Nerello Mas-
calese, highlighting the diffi culties inherent in
ampelographic study and genetic confi rmation.
Importantly, studying Nerello Mascalese's
anthocyanin profi le reveals a concentration of
peonin and cyanin greater than 50 percent,
with a very low presence of acylated pigments,
clearly explaining why Nerello Mascalese wines
are generally light in color (or should be). How-
ever, a few biotypes appear to have slightly
higher levels of acylated anthocyanins; there-
fore some wines could have slightly deeper
hues, depending on the winemaking and viti-
cultural techniques employed. Of note,
anthocyanin concentrations can vary noticeably
in Nerello Mascalese depending on growing
conditions, as noted by Foti (1991).
Nerello Mascalese displays considerable
intravarietal variability. Smaller-berried indi-
viduals might be optimal choices for obtaining
greater polyphenol (especially anthocyanin)
synthesis. Despite the many biotypes, though,
Nerello Mascalese is obviously very different
from Nerello Cappuccio: it has smaller, conical-
cylindrical, long, winged bunches compared to
Cappuccio's medium-large, pyramidal, compact
Nerello Mascalese
where it's found:
Sicily, Calabria.
national
registry code number:
165.
color:
red.
One of my life-defi ning moments in wine
happened in 1980 or 1981. Having endured
countless so-so wines brought to Sunday lunch
by my Sicilian grandfather, and having given
up hope on his wine knowledge, one fateful day
he fi nally brought something spectacular: a
wine he simply called
vino nero
(black wine). I
had never tasted a wine from Sicily that was
even a tenth as good as that one, and believe
me, I still remember every drop: it was then
that I fi nally understood the magic that Nerello
Mascalese was capable of, in the right hands.
And I suddenly understood why my grandfa-
ther, who had lived in the foothills of the Etna
volcano most of his life (our family owned
small holdings in Randazzo and Linguaglossa,
prime Nerello Mascalese sites today), had
always waxed poetic about the wines made in
his area. At last, I had seen Nerello Mascalese's
light, and I became a believer.
Also locally called Niureddu, Nerello Mas-
calese's name derives from Mascali, the plain
northeast of the city of Catania that separates it
from the sea, as well as from the name of a
township north of Riposto near Catania, from
where ships full of Nerello wine left for other
shores. Sestini described the variety in 1760,
placing it in the family of the
Nigrelli
varieties,
and Geremia wrote about it in 1835. But Nerello
Mascalese and its wines only surged to promi-
nence at the turn of the most recent century.
Prior to 2000, nobody talked about this variety
(or of Nerello Cappuccio, its stablemate in most
wines made in the northeastern corner of Sic-
ily). Today, things couldn't be more different,
and the Etna area has become, without ques-
tion, Italy's single hottest wine-production
zone—shades of Chianti-shire and Tuscany, in
fact, with many new and moneyed owners mov-
ing into the area and new estates springing up.
