Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ages extremely well. Its deep purple hue, with
intense aromas of violets and fresh blackberries,
with more blackberry and black currant on the
palate and delicate hints of roses, underbrush,
and tar, all make this a complex, very interest-
ing, and unique red. As it ages it smoothes out
and picks up a complexity that I have yet to fi nd
in Pignolo wines, generally considered the
much better variety of the two. It probably is, but
I don't think Tazzelenghe is so inferior. I think
Tazzelenghe has a future and a role to play,
especially if wine lovers take the time to let its
wine age for a few years and smooth out.
Syrah is a cross between Mondeuse Blanche
and Dureza, two varieties typical of the Savoie
and Ardèche regions of France (Bowers, Siret,
and Meredith 2000). In 2006, Vouillamoz and
Grando at the Istituto Agrario di San Michele
all'Adige showed Dureza to be a sibling of Ter-
oldego. Interestingly, it follows that, since Syrah
is a progeny of Dureza, it is therefore a nephew
of Teroldego, which makes Teroldego look like a
pretty important grape. A second-degree
genetic relationship between Pinot Nero and
both Dureza and Teroldego was also found in
the 2006 study, which means that Pinot Nero
might be a close relative of the two. However,
since Pinot Nero was known and cultivated in
France and in the Tyrol in the fourteenth cen-
tury, before any documented reference to either
Dureza or Teroldego being planted in the
region, it is possible that Pinot Nero is their
ancestor, most likely either their grandparent or
their uncle. However, Roncador (2006) reports
the presence of vineyards in Trentino in the fi f-
teenth century that were most likely of Terol-
dego, so the latter is also a very ancient variety.
It also appears likely that Teroldego spontane-
ously crossed with an unknown and possibly
now extinct variety, potentially even a wild
grapevine species, to give birth to Lagrein in
Trentino or Alto Adige and to Marzemino in
Trentino or Lombardy (Vouillamoz and Grando
2006).
Teroldego is one of Italy's ancient and wilder
varieties, and training it up high above the
ground can keep its vigor under control. Gener-
ally speaking, Teroldego has medium bunches
and medium-large berries; the bunch is pyra-
midal, elongated, and compact, with two small
wings. The berries detach easily, not a good
thing in windy conditions. It's slightly sensitive
to oidium and peronospora, and in humid years
botrytis bunch rot becomes a problem. Of the
fi ve main clones available today, the best two
are 145 and 152, developed in 1990 and 1992,
respectively (while 146 is too productive and of
a lesser quality). While both yield wines with
intense aromas, the latter is markedly different
phenotypically, earlier ripening and with
wines to try:
Lino Casella** (Cassella has
taken over the once-famous Rieppi estate in
Albana), Gianpaolo Colutta**, D'Attimis Mani-
ago**, Jacuss**, La Viarte**, and Le 2 Torri**.
Teroldego
where it's found:
Trentino, Tuscany, Sicily.
national registry code number:
232.
color:
red.
Teroldego is the most important red grape
variety of Trentino, where other good red wines
are made—from Pinot Nero to Cabernet Sauvi-
gnon to Marzermino—but Teroldego rules.
Legend has it that the variety's name derives
from
oro
and Tirolo, as this wine was called
“the golden one from Tirolo” at the royal court
of Vienna and in other European cities, where it
was very popular in the eighteenth and nine-
teenth centuries. Alternatively, the name may
be a corruption of Tiroldola (or Teroldola), an
ancient native variety grown near Verona.
Though fi rst documented by Filippo Re in the
1811
Annali dell'agricoltura del Regno d'Italia,
there are references to Teroldego wines dating
back to the fourteenth century (though which
grape they were made of is less clear). Michel-
angelo Mariani, historian of the Concilio di
Trento, documented that Teroldego wine was
made in particularly large volumes near the
town of Mezzolombardo in 1673.
Recently, the origin of Teroldego has been
clarifi ed. DNA parentage analysis showed that
