Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Schioppettino
Schioppettino has always thrived in the
Colli Orientali del Friuli, where it is also rarely
called Pocalza (the variety's Slovenian name) or
Ribolla Nera. In fact, historically the latter
name was most commonly used to describe
both the grape variety and the wine made,
while Schioppettino referred specifi cally to the
wine made in and around Prepotto, considered
of a higher quality already in the early twentieth
century (therefore, it is incorrect to say that
Schioppettino was used to refer to any wine
made with this grape variety). Schioppettino's
name may derive from its crunchy berries,
which literally explode
(scoppiettare)
in the
mouth; another equally plausible hypothesis is
that the explosion referred to the unexpected
secondary fermentation that routinely took
place in the closed bottles in less enologically
savvy times (due to residual sugar left over in
unfi ltered wines, causing them to referment,
with bottles bursting from the resulting carbon
dioxide produced within the closed vessels).
Many an old-timer has told me that walking
into the cellar come springtime was a real
nightmare and care had to be taken not to get
hurt!
Surprisingly, there is very little historical
documentation on Schioppettino. Di Rov-
asenda (1877) is one of the few ampelographers
of the past to have given an accurate descrip-
tion. In 1907, the Consorzio Antifi losserico
(Antiphylloxera Consortium) recommended
that Schioppettino be used to replant vineyards
devastated by the invading louse: in so doing, it
effectively confi rmed Schioppettino's value and
quality potential. It's not surprising, then, that
Marinelli wrote in 1912 that Pokalça (the Slov-
enian spelling of Pocalza, a Schioppettino syn-
onym) was one of the most commonly culti-
vated varieties around Cividale in the aftermath
of phylloxera (along with Verduzzo, Refoscone,
Refosco, and Ribolla). We know from a docu-
ment written in 1282 and published in honor of
the Rieppi-Caucig wedding of 1910 that in the
thirteenth century the amphitheater of Albana-
Prepotto was almost completely under vine,
and that Schioppettino represented about 75
where it's found:
FVG.
national registry
code number:
290.
color:
red.
I have followed Schioppettino's course from
all-but-forgotten to budding superstar for the
better part of twenty years. When still a twenty-
something and in university, I began buying
and collecting Schioppettino wines and never
missed a vintage (admittedly, it wasn't that
hard an undertaking, since there wasn't much
wine being made). Simply put, it's one of my
favorite wines of all, and one of the high points
of my career in wine was when the newly
formed Association of Schioppettino Producers
of Prepotto asked me to moderate the fi rst-ever
conference dedicated to the variety during their
inaugural weekend celebration. To think that
all this almost never came to be: for Schioppet-
tino, as recently as 1976, was an outlaw.
An example of the harm politicians can
cause is the 1976 law by the Prepotto local gov-
ernment that essentially impeded planting of
Schioppettino, a grape historically linked to
both the town and nearby Albana. This was a
seriously misguided move, as Prepotto and
Albana are true
grand crus
for the variety. Had
it been for some politicians, yet another part of
Friuli Venezia Giulia would be awash with even
more
Cabernet
s and Merlot than it already is
today. Fortunately, the inhabitants of Prepotto
rebelled en masse, led by an understanding
mayor who campaigned for years for the reha-
bilitation of Schioppettino. An emergency town
council meeting held in 1977 had a “save Schi-
oppettino” motion as the only order of the day,
which effectively set things in motion, leading
to the law being repealed and Schioppettino
being included in the list of authorized wine-
grape varieties for the province of Udine (two
years later this was further modifi ed to make
Schioppettino a recommended variety). How-
ever, it's doubtful that matters would have
taken the highly positive course they did, or as
quickly, if it hadn't been for the dynamic hus-
band and wife duo of Paolo and Dina Rapuzzi,
owners of the Ronchi di Cialla estate.
