Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
perhaps ideal for dry white wine production but
not for vino santo. In 2007, Vouillamoz, Schnei-
der, and Grando showed that Nosiola (and
Groppello di Revò) is most likely the offspring
of Rèze, an ancient Valais variety (any one of the
three could be a parent or offspring, but because
Rèze has been described since the fourteenth
century, the other two only since the nine-
teenth, it seems logical that Rèze is the parent
and the other two the progenies).
Always considered a worthy table grape,
Nosiola was rarely used to make wine on its
own but rather was used in blends, though in
1822 Giacomo Sommadossi, cellar master of
the Count Wolkenstein estate, made the fi rst
ever vino santo with Nosiola, apparently because
his employers, the noble Wolkenstein family,
wished to be surprised by something different
upon their return to the family castle at Easter
time (D'Agata 2001a). In 1825 he won a
diploma of excellence at the Melbourne Inter-
national Exhibition for this then-groundbreak-
ing wine. The variety's isolated geographic
location in small, mountaintop vineyards
means it wasn't uprooted in favor of interna-
tional varieties and has been linked to Trentino
since at least the fi fteenth century. Interest-
ingly, the archbishop of Trento decreed in 1930
that Nosiola wines be used to celebrate the
Holy Mass, rather than red wines, which risked
irremediably staining the white religious
vestments.
Nosiola has medium-sized berries and
bunches; the latter are elongated, winged, and
loosely packed. It's resistant to most diseases
and inclement weather, but spring frosts are a
risk, for it buds early, and desiccation of the
spine is also common. It does best in well-ven-
tilated sites because it is susceptible to sour rot.
An irregular producer, in fl atland vineyards it
produces copious amounts of large fl avorless
berries. There are three clones: SMA 74 is best
for vino santo production, as it's less compact
than the other two.
Nosiola grows mainly in Trentino but is also
found in Lombardy and Veneto close to the
shores of Lake Garda. Already in the 1800s, the
best production areas were considered to be
Trentino's Valle del Sarca and near Lavis. Today,
the most important production zone is in the
postcard-perfect setting of the Valle dei Laghi,
around the towns of Calavino, Cavedine,
Lasino, Padergnone, and Lezzano, which is
where the best vino santo is made (though it can
also be made around Arco, Drena, Dro, Nago-
Torbole, Riva del Garda, and Tenno). The area
of the Valle dei Laghi benefi ts from the drying
effect of the Ora del Garda, a breeze moving
northward from Lake Garda that creates a spe-
cifi c microclimate ideal for air-drying grapes in
which noble rot thrives.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Nosiola is used to make both a light, refreshing
white wine and the unctuously sweet vino santo
(made in Trentino only and hence called Tren-
tino Vino Santo). The former is deliciously
crisp; the latter is one of Italy's ten best wines,
red, white, or sweet, but unfortunately is not
very well known. The grapes used for vino santo
production are air-dried for up to fi ve to six
months and lose roughly 50 percent of their
weight. The best wine to try is the DOC Tren-
tino Nosiola or the Trentino Vino Santo: the
latter is a truly unique, mesmerizingly good
sweet wine. Note that the vino santo of Trentino
is spelled differently than the better-known
Tu sc a n or Umbr i a n vin santo (that's vin instead
of vino ); it also tastes very different, much
sweeter and creamier.
Dry white nosiola exudes delicate hazelnut
and white fl ower and citrus aromas and fl avors,
and has a pleasant freshness due to a notewor-
thy saline element that lasts and lasts on the
palate. The vino santo s are rich, complex, very
sweet, and crammed with ripe peach, almond
paste, lime, candied pineapple, tropical fruit
jelly aromas and fl avors. The variety's arche-
typal high acidity lifts the rich fl avors and
extends them at the back.
wines to try: For Nosiola (dry), try: Cantina
Toblino*** (L'Ora), Pojer & Sandri***, Ces-
coni**, Giuseppe Fanti** (a very rich mouth-
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