Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
relative of Trebbiano Giallo than Trebbiano
Toscano. In fact, the Lazio variety looks quite
different than these other two, with a bifi d clus-
ter and very small berries. Terenzi feels very
strongly that the Passerina of Lazio is not at all
the same variety as the so-named grape of
Abruzzo and the Marche, and I agree. To com-
plicate matters further, there is an aromatic
Passerina described in Lazio, but I refuse to
consider this possibility: I have always been told
that Passerina is a nonaromatic variety, and
therefore the rare aromatic Passerina found
sporadically in Lazio (where in fact Passerina is
also nonaromatic) must be viewed as a different
variety altogether (as yet unidentifi ed). Of
course local producers don't share my opinion,
and no less an expert than Professor Nicotina of
the Poggio alla Meta estate believes that Passe-
rina has the ability to release high concentra-
tions of terpenes, depending on soils and how
the wine is made. Maybe, but I'm not con-
vinced, though a mutation expressing a
musqué
or aromatic trait is always possible, much like
Chardonnay or Chasselas. There are four offi -
cially recognized clones of Passerina: VCR 6,
UBA RA-PA 6, TGC 2 ISV, and VCR 450.
In the Marche, there exist three recognized
biotypes of Passerina: the most common has a
leaf with fi ve lobes, a conical, small, and sparse
bunch, with a pale small berry. The second
most-common biotype instead has a large and
compact bunch, and the leaf always has only
three lobes. The berry is also bigger and oval
in shape. The least common biotype is similar
to the second but easily differentiated from it
because it always sports at least one or two
wings. It's not clear to me yet if there is a prac-
tical difference between these biotypes, that is,
better wines being made from one or the
other. As is often the case with native grapes,
time will tell. An extremely underrated grape,
Passerina is a resistant variety that can pro-
duce copious quantities of very good wine: and
with appropriate reduction of its yields, the
wine can be quite special indeed. Currently, it
grows mainly in Marche, Abruzzo, Molise,
and Lazio.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
The best examples of Passerina wines are those
of the DOCG Offi da (Marche), DOC Contro-
guerra Passerina (Abruzzo), and the IGT Pas-
serina del Frusinate (Lazio), but many produc-
ers make excellent monovarietal wines and
Passerina can be included in as many as nine-
teen different IGT blends. The wines can be
still, dry, sparkling, or even sweet, made by late
harvesting or air-drying. Wines made with this
variety in Abruzzo and the Marche tend to be
mineral, almost steely, and high in acid, while
those of Lazio's Frusinate area are generally
much softer and creamier, marked by herbal
notes. However, all Passerina wines tend to
have strong notes of ripe citrus and tropical
fruit. Professor Leonardo Seghetti clarifi es my
point when he says that “in Abruzzo, the vari-
ety is characterized by a slow accumulation of
sugars that is not matched by a proportional
reduction of acidity.” In other words, this vari-
ety tends to maintain high total acidity and that
is why it has been used successfully to make
sparkling wines. In Lazio, this would be
unthinkable, since that local Passerina variety
is instead a low-acid cultivar (which further
leads me to believe that Lazio's is a distinct cul-
tivar from the one grown in the Marche and
Abruzzo: certainly the wines taste very differ-
ent, even when made using the same viticul-
tural and enological methods). Furthermore,
Pina Terenzi has told me time and again that
“the real problem with our Passerina is that we
have to time the harvest perfectly, for it drops
its acidity practically overnight right on the
vine”—the risk being that the wine can go from
potentially very interesting and good to fl at and
boring. According to Domenico Pasetti, in
Abruzzo harvesting at exactly the right moment
is a big concern too, lest the grapes don't reach
optimal maturity and thereby produce bitter
wines. In conclusion, talking about Passerina
as a single grape variety and wine is next to
impossible, at least at the current state of knowl-
edge. It is very likely that the name Passerina
refers to distinct grape varieties, or at the very
