Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
by now that Schioppettino wines are not the
second coming of full-bodied syrahs or caber-
nets. Schioppettino offers a gentler, less muscu-
lar, and perfumed red wine to spend time with,
and, I'm sure you'll agree, there are plenty of
times when that's just what you need.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Today, Sciaglin's area of cultivation is still more
or less that of 1863, only it is less common
within its production zone, reduced to sporadic
vines here and there. Only near Pordenone,
Maniago, Spilimbergo, Fagagna, and Vito
d'Asio in the westernmost part of Friuli Ven-
ezia Giulia is there a higher density of
grapevines.
The only monovarietal wine I know of is by
Bulfon. The wine is pale straw-yellow, delicately
fl oral and fruity (jasmine, buttercups, chloro-
phyll, aniseed, lemon, tangerine, lime, with a
complicating hint of acacia honey), blessed
with high acidity and mineral, fl oral freshness.
It is a remarkably delicate wine of real refi ne-
ment and excellence, so much so that I would
dearly love to see other producers try their hand
at the variety.
wines to try:
Grillo***, La Viarte***, Ronchì
di Cialla***, Vigna Petrussa***, Antico
Broilo**, Bressan**, Ermacora**, Gigante**,
La Tunella**, Lino Casella/Rieppi**, Paolo
Rodaro** (about 30-40 percent of the grapes
are air-dried, so the wines have a much thicker,
creamier appeal), Petrussa**, La Sclusa**, and
Moschioni** (grapes are gently air-dried on the
vine).
Sciaglin
where it's found:
FVG.
national registry
code number:
323.
color:
white.
The earliest mention of Sciaglin in Italian
vineyards dates back to the fourteenth century,
when the wine was already considered one of
Friuli Venezia Giulia's best and longest lived.
Its name, like all the synonyms it is known by
(Scjarlin, Schiarlina, Schiglin), derives from
s'ciale,
or “terraces,” which tells us that even
many centuries ago locals were already aware
that Sciaglin does best on high hillside slopes
(some experts alternately believe that the name
Sciaglin derives from
schiavolino,
or Slavic). At
the time of the 1863 Regional Exposition of
Grape Varieties organized by the Friuli Agri-
cultural Association, Sciaglin cultivation
ranged from Vito d'Asio near Pordenone to
Magagna near Udine. Poggi (1935) states that
Sciaglin was still very common at the begin-
ning of the new century, as it continued to be
only sixty years ago. Sciaglin cultivation was
gradually abandoned, though I'm not sure why,
since the variety is a regular and dependable
producer and is not particularly disease sensi-
tive. It may well be that in the planting craze of
the international white varieties following the
phylloxera epidemic, Sciaglin simply fell by the
wayside, a shame.
wines to try:
Bulfon*** (bright and refresh-
ing with sneaky concentration).
Sciascinoso
where it's found:
Campania, Lazio.
national
registry code number:
225.
color:
red.
Sciascinoso is one of the many olive-shaped
grapes found in Italy—all descendants of the
Vitis oleaginea
described by Pliny the Elder—
and has long been confused with Olivella,
which is the more ancient of the two varieties.
The confusion still reigns today, so caveat emp-
tor when consulting topics or websites on Italy's
native grapes and wines. The distinction
between Sciascinoso and Olivella dates to only
a few years: Froio (1875, 1878), who wrote about
many Campanian varieties, believed Sciasci-
noso and Olivella to be distinct. Conversely, a
grape variety called both Livella and Sciasci-
noso has been described by other experts as
different varieties since the nineteenth century
at least. Carlucci
,
in his 1909 contribution to
Vialà and Vermorel's
Traité général de viticul-
ture,
states that Olivella and Sciascinoso are
distinct: “Sciascinoso is very common in the
provinces of Avellino and Salerno, less so in
