Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
In the nineteenth century, ampelographers
believed that Tintore di Tramonti was also
related to Tintora di Lanzara and Olivella Tingi-
tora, two other local coloring grapes.
Tintore di Tramonti also takes its name
from the little town called Tramonti, which
offers breathtaking views of the Amalfi coast
that are a must-see when you next visit the area.
It is also one of the few parts of the coast with
serious tracts of vineyard land still available.
Tintore di Tramonti remains a rare variety;
most of the remaining vines in the area are
ungrafted and more than a hundred years old.
Tramonti can be a windy and cold place,
though: not by chance Tramonti derives from
the Latin
triventum,
meaning “three winds,” as
this part of Campania is often plagued by
strong cold winds swirling about. Tintore di
Tramonti is not a particularly fertile variety, but
local producers have always appreciated it for its
deep hue and capacity to accumulate sugars
(thereby allowing for the production of strong,
alcoholic wines). It's very vigorous, high yield-
ing, and rustic, but sensitive to botrytis bunch
rot and berry shatter. It has a deep blue-red-
colored pulp.
wines to try:
Reale*** (Borgo di Gete), Api-
cella** (La Scippata), Monte di Grazia**, and
Tenuta San Francesco** (È Iss) (all are making
pure Tintore di Tramonti wines as well as oth-
ers in which it plays a major role; these estates'
wines are some of the most unique and inter-
esting coming out of Italy, far better than those
made with most other coloring varieties).
Tocai Friulano
where it's found:
FVG.
national registry
code number:
235.
color:
white.
Along with Ribolla Gialla, Tocai Friulano is
Friuli Venezia Giulia's most emblematic grape
variety and the classic
tajut
of wine (the local
phrasing for a glass of wine) in every
osteria
or
trattoria
of the region. After decades of squab-
bles and petitions, people in Friuli Venezia Giu-
lia have come to accept that their wine can no
longer be called Tocai (much as in Alsace there
is no longer a tokay-pinot gris, but just pinot
gris), as the moniker “Tokaj” or “Tokay” is now
allowed only for the Hungarian wine made in
the eponymous region. Therefore, the wine is
now simply called friulano. Interestingly, and
in a very Italian twist on the matter, though the
Italian wine can no longer be called Tocai, in
Italy the grape's name continues to be Tocai
Friulano.
Tocai Friulano has a long and distinguished
history in Friuli Venezia Giulia. Documents
inform us that already in the twelfth century,
the Abbott Giacomo Vinciguerra from Collalto
owned “a wonderful vineyard of Tokay in San
Salvatore”; centuries later Poggi (1939) thought
Tokay was one of Friuli Venezia Giulia's best
wines. What grapes were used to make those
wines is unclear, though of course in Italy eve-
ryone believes it was Tocai Friulano. Italians
also underscore that King Bela IV planted
Friulian grapevines in Hungary in the Tokay
production zone (Perusini 1935) and that Count
Formentini from Friuli Venezia Giulia also
brought Friulian grapevines to Hungary. In a
truly clever observation, those who staunchly
defend Italy's right to use the Tocai name for
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Tintore di Tramonti is grown mainly in the
beautiful countryside around Tramonti, less in
the Valle dell'Irno, near Salerno. The DOC
Costa d'Amalfi Rosso, subzone Tramonti (and
to a lesser degree, subzones Ravello and
Furore), are the wines most likely to contain
small percentages of this variety. Here the
vines are often close to a hundred years old and
are commonly ungrafted.
There have been only ten thousand bottles
of monovarietal tintore made thus far, but it's
encouraging to see winemakers trying their
hand at a local variety that had been forgotten.
Besides a deep hue, the wines exude lovely ripe
red cherry and almost jammy, spicy aromas
and fl avors, but with very high levels of acidity,
so they never come across as heavy or cloying.
As the grapes are often slightly air-dried, the
tannins are usually remarkably smooth.
