Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
areas are Rovescala, Buttafuoco, and Casteggio.
They differ mainly in soil composition: mainly
clay, marl, and sandy-gravel, respectively. The
Valle di Recoaro and the Val Maga at Broni,
where the famous Barbacarlo is made, can be
considered the true
grand cru
of the Oltrepò
Pavese for the red wines. These valleys are very
tight, stuck down deep between two cliffs, with
poorly fertile, rocky soils and very large day-
night temperature variations due to nighttime
cold air currents that are always sweeping
through. This unique microclimate explains
the greatness of the wines. Künzli states fl atly
that Uva Rara is of no interest in Boca (the
northeastern portion of Piedmont), as the wine
produced is neutral and insipid; though it can
be used to make everyday simple wines. Not
everyone in the area agrees with this view,
however.
The most famous wine in which Uva Rara is
used is Ghemme, though Boca and Sizzano are
also well thought of. These are most often
blends; pure Uva Rara wines are very rare, but
not unheard of. There have also always been
monovarietal wines, just like with Vespolina,
the other main native grape of the areas where
Uva Rara grows. Uva Rara has traditionally
been used to make a fresh everyday table wine
in areas where bigger, full-bodied wines were
already available, such as the wines from Gat-
tinara or Boca in Piedmont and the many
cabernet-merlots of the Oltrepò. A pure Uva
Rara wine is bright dark-ruby in color, but with-
out the purple tinges that are far more typical of
wines made solely with Vespolina. The aroma
is usually very complex, with hints of red roses,
violet, red, almost black cherries, and raspber-
ries and sweet spices. The wine always comes
across as very fresh, high acid, and vibrantly
tannic, but it never has much power or struc-
ture. One limit I fi nd to Uva Rara wines is that
they do not have the magical perfume exuded
by pure vespolinas, but, in the end, that may
just be a matter of personal taste.
sparkling wine), and Francesco Brigatti**.
From the Oltrepò Pavese, try: Frecciarossa**
and Podere Il Santo* (Rairon).
Verdea
where it's found:
Lombardy, Emilia-Roma-
gna, Tuscany.
national registry code number:
251.
color:
white.
A little-known grape, Verdea has plenty to
offer wine lovers, though you'd never guess it by
some of the neutral, insipid stuff that's bottled.
A good Verdea wine will surprise more than
one wine expert who may never have heard of it.
In 1495 Pier de' Crescenzi referred to it as
Verdea, and many expert ampelographers of the
past confused this grape with Puglia's Verdeca,
Tuscany's Vernaccia di San Gimignano, and
still other varieties. Today it is still commonly
called San Colombana, Colombana Bianca, or
Colombana, especially in Tuscany (in honor of
the so-named Irish saint who supposedly intro-
duced the variety into the region), where locals
also call it Colombana di Peccioli. However Di
Rovasenda (1877) believed that the various
Colombana
s were distinct from the
San Colom-
bana
grapes, and that both were large families
of grapes rather than just one grape, though we
have no knowledge of that distinction today. In
Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna Verdea is better
known as a table grape (though it is used in
blends to make at times very good wines, espe-
cially sweet Vin Santo), while in Lombardy it
has always been used to make wines.
Some modern experts, such as Roberto
Bandinelli of the University of Florence, believe
the Verdea of Lombardy to be distinct from that
of Tuscany, and they have plenty of morphologi-
cal evidence to back up these impressions.
There is also a Verdea grown in Emilia-
Romagna. It is very similar to the Tuscan Mal-
vasia Bianca Lunga but has a stocky bunch with
no wings and remains green even when ripe,
while, as its name implies, Malvasia Bianca
Lunga has a long bunch and at least one if not
two wings. San Colombano has a big bunch
and an elongated berry. So, according to Ban-
wines to try:
Antico Borgo dei Cavalli** (Spu-
mante Curticelli Rosè and Lea, the former a
