Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
overoaked wines), always likes to say, half-jok-
ingly, “It's not that Pecorino is Sauvignonesque,
but rather that Sauvignon is Pecorinoesque.”
They'll be glad to learn that in the Loire and in
New Zealand. All kidding aside, his 2008 and
2010 Pecorino wines made from old vines are
among the hundred best white wines Italy has
ever made. Cristiana Tiberio, of the up-and-
coming Tiberio estate and recognized Pecorino
expert (her wine has won numerous awards
and accolades for the last two years), loves the
variety, fi nding it “a remarkable combination of
rusticity and refi nement.” I couldn't have said it
better myself.
verga wines have always been, and are, classi-
cally dry. Nevertheless, Croce is an interesting
fi gure in the history of Italian wine: an archi-
tect and a jeweler by trade who worked for the
Duke Emanuele Filiberto, he owned a vineyard
on the hillsides of Torino, to which he devoted
much attention, being also an expert on gar-
dens and orchards. Besides his day job, he man-
aged to write quite a bit on Italian native grape
varieties.
Pelaverga Grosso grows only in Piedmont. It
is typical of the countryside around Saluzzo
and Chieri (near Turin), where it is also called
Cari, and is a reliable, copious producer. How-
ever, it ripens late in the year (the fi rst two
weeks of November is common) which can be a
problem in Piedmont's cool and wet autumns,
and because it is both very vigorous and fertile,
it tends not to ripen evenly when overcropped.
Reducing yields and planting it in well-exposed,
sunny sites appears to be the best choice in
order to nudge the berries to optimal maturity.
Pelaverga Piccolo, on the other hand, is typical
of Verduno in the Langhe, while Peilavert is
grown in the Canavese portion of Piedmont
close to the Saluzzo area.
wines to try: From the Marche, try: Cocci Gri-
foni*** (Colle Vecchio), Aurora** (Fiobbo), Le
Caniette* (Io Sono Gaia), Poderi San Lazzaro*
(Pistillo), and San Savino* (Ciprea). From
Abruzzo, try: Cataldi Madonna***, Tiberio***,
Il Feuduccio di Santa Maria d'Orni*, Pasetti*
(Colle Civetta), Strappelli* (Soprano), Torre dei
Beati* (Giocheremo con i Fiori), and Torre
Zambra* (Colle Maggio). Note that Pecorino
has become a hot commodity and many estates
are churning out their versions of the wine, not
all of them memorable.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
The wines are the DOCs Colline Torinesi and
Colline Saluzzesi. Though the grape can be
blended with Nebbiolo and/or Barbera, these
two DOCs also allow monovarietal wines. As
the latter area never produced white wines of
note, a few producers have taken to using Pela-
verga Grosso to make a rosato as well, not a bad
idea given the variety's naturally high acidity
(and the large day-night temperature differen-
tials in the area). A good Pelaverga wine should
smell and taste of peppery strawberries and vio-
lets and should not be too dark in color (though
the grapes are dark red-blue, the skins release
pigments with diffi culty). “But we can neither
macerate the skins for more than six to seven
days nor use too high temperatures during
maceration and fermentation,” explains Andrea
Occelli of Produttori Pelaverga di Castellar,
“because the skins start breaking apart and
Pelaverga Grosso
where it's found: Piedmont. national reg-
istry code number: 309. color: red.
Pelaverga Grosso, also called Pelaverga
Comune, is differentiated from the Pelaverga
Piccolo by its larger-sized cluster and berries
(especially). It was fi rst cultivated by friars at a
convent near Pagno in Val Bronda, so it is also
called Pelaverga di Pagno. Another Piedmon-
tese variety, Peilavert, appears to be genetically
distinct from the two Pelaverga s, despite the
very similar names.
The fi rst to mention Pelaverga Grosso was
Giovanni Battista Croce in 1606. He referred to
it as Cario (Cari remains a commonly used
synonym for this cultivar), and noted the “deli-
cate, sweet, and good wines made from” it. I'm
not too sure about the “sweet” part, since Pela-
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