Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
all sold in Switzerland or used as an aperitif for
those visiting the estate of La Gatta near Bian-
zone. The third version is Pinea, made as an
IGT Terrazze Retiche di Sondrio, a classically
dry red wine that has very mineral aromas and
fl avors of raspberry, white truffl e, gunfl int,
and black pepper, fresh and vibrant, with youth-
fully chewy tannins, which I fi nd are not as
harsh as those of other varieties with
pigna
-
related names (such as Pignolo, for example).
Firmino Miotti makes the only monovarie-
tal Groppello di Breganze I know of. Interest-
ingly, the Cantina Col Dovigo produces a wine
they name Groppello, though they don't specify
which
Groppello
variety is used. The wine is an
IGT, but the word Breganze is printed in small
lettering on the label below the words Indicazi-
one Geografi ca Tipica. The wine is made with
Groppello di Breganze.
selected from mother plants that had probably
long inhabited the specifi c
terroirs
of two differ-
ent regions (Umbria and Emilia-Romagna),
thereby adapting over time to different living
conditions, yield exactly the same wine. My
experience is that, though the varieties may be
genetically identical, the ensuing wines may
not be, even if the exact same agricultural and
vinifi cation techniques are employed. Also, the
Grechetto clone G5 ICA PG is in fact identical
to Pignoletto CAB 5, while Grechetto clone
VCR 2 is identical to Pignoletto VCR 3, yet these
are all included in the National Registry's Gre-
chetto entry. Grechetto clone R3 biotype Ribolla
is not related to Ribolla Gialla at all, and so
allowing this name for the clone only led to
more confusion. In any case, the ICA PG clone
is especially resistant to oidium and botrytis,
though it drops acidity quickly when overripe
(notably tartaric acid), especially in hot, humid
years (Borgo, Cartechini, Lovat, and Moretti
2004).
Rèbola is the name for Grechetto di Todi or
Pignoletto in the Romagna section of Emilia-
Romagna, where it was also called Ribolla
(erroneously, since Ribolla Gialla is a native of
Friuli Venezia Giulia) and Pignulèt. It was fi rst
described in this part of Italy by De Bosis in
1876 (in the
Bollettini ampelografi ci provinciali
)
as a variety commonly found in the countryside
of Rimini.
The Grechetto di Todi variety, which is in
fact Pignoletto, is instead more abundant
around Todi as well as in the whole province of
Perugia, and of course in Emilia-Romagna. In
fact, though Pignoletto is generally considered
a variety native to Emilia-Romagna, it is most
typically found on the hills around Bologna in
the Emilia portion of the region (though in the
past it was also grown in Romagna, where it is
uncommon today). It also has a limited exten-
sion in the Marche.
wines to try:
For Pignola Nera, try: Triacca**
(Pinea). For Groppello di Breganze, try:
Firmino Miotti***, Col Dovigo.
Pignoletto
where it's found:
Emilia-Romagna, Umbria,
Lazio, Marche.
national registry code
number:
300.
color:
white.
Many Italian native grape varieties are
plagued by myriad erroneous names and syn-
onyms, and Pignoletto is no slouch in this
department. It is called Grechetto di Todi in
Umbria, where it is an important part of the
Orvieto wine blend. In Emilia-Romagna it is
called Rèbola, but the two are identical. In the
past it has been called Pignolo (a distinct red
variety of Friuli Venezia Giulia), Pulcinculo
(most often a synonym of
Grechetto
s in
Umbria), and Ribolla (both a white and red
variety of Friuli Venezia Giulia), as well as con-
fused with Pinot Bianco and Riesling Italico or
Welschriesling. Clones of Pignoletto include
CAB 3, CAB 5, and VCR 3, but as mentioned in
the Grechetto entry two of these were previ-
ously thought to be Grechetto di Todi clones. It
would be interesting to know if these clones,
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Good to great Pignoletto DOC wines of Emilia-
Romagna are Colli Bolognesi and Colli di
Rimini. The latter are often made with what is
