Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
interest in Bombino Bianco and Bombino Nero,
two other local natives used to make lovely
wines that were, in my view, grossly underesti-
mated prior to Uva di Troia's rise to fame (and
in fact, I believe they still are, to an extent).
Legend has it that Uva di Troia got its name,
and arrived on Puglia's northern shores, thanks
to Diomedes, king of Argo and best friend of
Ulysses, who like that well-traveled fellow
fought in t he Trojan War. Apparent ly, Diomedes
later busied himself with other endeavors, such
as traveling with Uva di Troia vines in his suit-
case. I'm certainly not going to be the one to
downplay that theory, if for no other reason
than because some wines made mainly with
Uva di Troia (witness Rivera's Il Falcone 1953 or
1955) are pretty legendary in their own right.
However, I will point out that it's a bit more
likely that the grape's name derived either from
the small town of Troia (near Foggia, in north-
ern Puglia) or from Cruja, the small town in
Albania just across the sea from Puglia and
where the grape may in fact have come from.
Another theory is that the variety is an ancient
import from Spain's Rioja, though to the best of
my knowledge there is no variety resembling
Uva di Troia in that famous wine region today.
The earliest offi cial mention of Uva di Troia
dates back to 1854, when the Pavoncelli estate
opted to plant their lands in northern Puglia
with “the indigenous Uva di Troia, robust,
drought resistant and fairly productive, that
gives strong blending wines” (Antonacci 2004).
Blends have always been a way of life for this
variety: Trojan horse-like, Uva di Troia has
always been used to add an extra something, a
surprising touch (usually grace and refi ne-
ment, and when produced from excessive
yields, extra high-acid juice), to add another
dimension to wines. Many other famous
ampelographers described Uva di Troia as well,
from Di Rovasenda (1877) to Vialà and Ver-
morel (1901-10), all pointing to the quality of
the wine made with it and its important role in
the blends Rosso Barletta, Rosso Cerignola,
and Rosso Canosa, which though less famous
nowadays are still being made. For Italians, the
grape is apparently also linked to an important
historical moment that all children learn about
in school, the Disfi da di Barletta (or the Bar-
letta Challenge). On February 13, 1503, during
a war between France and Spain, thirteen Ital-
ian soldiers (fi ghting at that time for Spain)
squared off against thirteen French ones, after
the French captain, the nobleman Charles de
Torgue, nicknamed Monsieur Guy de la Motte,
had unwisely mocked the valor of Italian sol-
diers in battle at a banquet. Needless to say, in
those less bureaucratic times things were
resolved on the battlefi eld, and the Italians
soundly defeated their French opponents (and
perhaps this is why all of us in Italy get to hear
about this event in school); rumor had it that
the French defeat was to be ascribed partly to
their having spent too much time in a Barletta
tavern, overindulging in the merits of Rosso
Barletta.
Uva di Troia is known by many synonyms
(though only Nero di Troia is used regularly):
for example, Barlettana, Somarella, Uva di Bar-
letta, and Uva di Canosa. The clones available
are UBA 49/G, UBA 49/M, VCR 1, UBA 52/N,
UBA 53/N. More important, there exist two
well-recognized biotypes of this variety: the
Barletta (also called di Ruvo) and the Canosa.
The two are very different, with the former hav-
ing larger, loosely packed bunches and larger
berries, and the latter smaller, cylindrical
bunches with smaller berries. The Canosa bio-
type is now very hard to fi nd, as the former's
greater proclivity for large yields made it the
preferential choice of farmers when they
planted new vineyards. However, recent fi eld
selections and clonal research have all looked to
the rarer variety, as it gives the better wines.
According to Count Onofrio Spagnoletti Zeuli
of the Spagnoletti Zeuli estate, the Canosa bio-
type is still present in many old vineyards
around Andria, whereas it has disappeared
around Barletta, “where historically they only
wanted to make high volumes of wine. I believe
that both are useful, and best blended together.
The Canosa gives color and structure; the Bar-
letta biotype adds perfume and freshness.”
