Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
another rare variety found in Valle d'Aosta and
the one offi cially listed in the National Registry.
Recent DNA analysis has revealed that Roussin
de Morgex shares a parent-progeny relationship
with Prié. The other parent is unknown, so one
can only guess which variety is the parent and
which the offspring; but as Prié is the oldest-
mentioned variety in the Valle d'Aosta, and not
even Gatta mentioned the existence of Roussin
de Morgex in 1838, it is logical to infer that Prié
is the parent. In an effort to safeguard Roussin
de Morgex from extinction, since 1998 it has
been reared in the experimental plot set up by
the Institut Agricole Régional at Hospices, but
the winemaking potential of the grape is as yet
untested. Gianluca Telolli, past winemaker at
the Cave du Vin Blanc, was growing some
Roussin de Morgex in 2001 and 2002 but
apparently wasn't impressed by its fi ne wine
potential and so didn't pursue the project fur-
ther. Maybe that will change one day. Lost up
high in the alpine clouds for centuries, Roussin
de Morgex may have long been relegated to an
afterthought, but my hope is that, with my help
too, this is one native variety that will be
allowed to come in from the cold.
tions of experimental batches of the wine reveal
piercingly fragrant aromas of wild strawberry,
almond fl owers, and fresh mountain herbs.
The acidity is almost painful, though, and so I
think the variety's potential lies in the realm of
sparkling wines, at least given our present and
scant state of knowledge.
wines to try:
Cave du Vin Blanc (expected in
spring 2014).
Roviello
where it's found:
Campania.
national reg-
istry code number:
430.
color:
white.
Roviello is this variety's oldest and correct
name, though Grecomusc' (or Grecomuscio) is
the most commonly used name by locals (
musc'
deriving from
moscio,
meaning fl accid, because
the short-on-juice berries look just so). The
variety is also called Roviello Bianco or Rovello
Bianco. It was fi rst described in 1875 as Roviello
Bianco (near Mercogliano Roccabascerana and
Fontanarosa in the province of Avellino) or sim-
ply Roviello (from Altavilla Irpina). In fact, the
term Grecomuscio does not appear anywhere
in the nineteenth-century ampelographic liter-
ature. Roviello is also the name listed in the
National Registry: according to DNA studies,
Roviello isn't a
Greco
(Francesca, Monaco,
Romano, Lonardo, de Simone, and Moschetti
2009)
.
Roviello was recently rediscovered by pro-
ducer Sandro Lonardo, owner of the Contrade
di Taurasi estate in Campania, with the help of
university researchers Antonella Monaco (Uni-
versity of Naples) and Giancarlo Moschetti
(University of Palermo). They found old and
often ungrafted Roviello vines growing hap-
hazardly in the countryside around Taurasi,
Passo di Mirabella, and Bonito: the cultivar has
pyramidal, medium-small bunches and
medium-small berries with thick skins.
Though it seems to thrive on sandy-loamy soils
of volcanic origin, as vines are few and far
between we can't be sure this is the best soil
type for the variety. Most likely, Roviello's fall
Which Wines to Choose and Why
My love for native grapes, and for this little,
near-extinct variety, is such that I have started a
unpaid collaboration with the Cave du Vin
Blanc in an effort to resurrect the variety and
attempt to make the wine again, even if only in
small quantities. The goal is to make small
batches available for sale, only at the winery at
fi rst; hopefully, enough people will like what
they taste to make larger volumes a commer-
cially feasible endeavor. All my thanks and
admiration go to current Cave du Vin Blanc
winemaker Nicola del Negro and the Cave's
president, Mauro Jacod, whose willingness to
devote time and resources to bringing Roussin
de Morgex back from oblivion is nothing but
commendable. Roussin de Morgex is therefore
currently an experimental project that will
hopefully conclude its journey in 2015, when
the fi rst wine will be released. Microvinifi ca-
