Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
dinelli, none of these varieties really looks any-
thing like the others, save for the fact they all
sport green berries (hence the name Verdea,
from
verde,
or green). I am not aware of any
defi nitive genetic studies on the matter, so it
looks like we will stay in the dark for a while,
until someone gives us a green light ahead. The
studies that have thus far addressed Verdea
have in fact only muddled the picture further.
One found Verdea to be identical to Sangiovese
Forte (the name the researchers used; Sanforte
is the offi cial name), but this seems strange, at
the very least because this would mean that one
variety is a color mutation of the other (Di Vec-
chi Staraz, Bandinelli, Boselli, This, Boursiq-
uot, Laucou, et al. 2007). That genetic profi ling
is not the answer to all of our grape-related
problems is evidenced by the fact that earlier
research found that Sangiovese and Sangiovese
Forte were identical, which most everyone
today believes they are not (Filipetti, Intrieri,
Centinari, Bucchetti, and Pastore 2005).
Verdea has a conical-pyramidal, medium-
large bunch, with large, oval berries. It ripens
late in September or in early October and is
very resistant to botrytis. There is one clone,
the VCR 115. It is grown mainly in the provinces
of Pisa in Tuscany and in Milan, Piacenza, and
Pavia in Lombardy.
thin wine that serves well as an aperitif or to
accompany light vegetable and fi sh dishes.
Excellent wines can be the sweet ones, made by
air-drying the grapes: in this case, the wine is a
very deep yellow-gold hue, rich in honey, tropi-
cal-fruit, and candied-pear fl avors, with a thick,
rich mouthfeel—usually very sweet and
impressive.
wines to try:
From Lombardy, try: Nettare dei
Santi** (outstanding Passito di Verdea; also
good dry still wine simply labeled Verdea; the
La Tonsa, though a good sparkling wine, is
made with 15 percent other white grapes), Piet-
rasanta* (lovely dry sparkling white), and
Panizzari*. From Emilia-Romagna, try: La Per-
gola** (Passito Solis).
Verdeca
where it's found:
Puglia, Campania.
national
registry code number:
252.
color:
white.
Of uncertain origin, Verdeca is one of Italy's
many grapes named after the green color of its
berries, and many of the variety's synonyms
also recall this trait (though many are errone-
ous and should not be used). A recent study
announced that Verdeca is identical to Pampa-
nuto, another well-known variety of northern
Puglia (while Verdeca is more typical of central
Puglia) (Pirolo, La Notte, Pastore, Torello Mari-
noni, Giannini, Venerito, et al. 2009). I'm not
sure what to think of this, since I don't think
the two varieties look at all alike, and the wines
couldn't be any more different (see PAMPA-
NUTO entry). I would caution that further test-
ing is needed, also because the paper analyzed
only forty-nine OIV ampelographic descriptors
(eighty-three is usually the minimum number
required); and though nine SSR microsatellite
loci were studied, perhaps a few more would
help make the identifi cation more certain (in
general, closely related varieties require study
of more SSR loci, for more precise identifi ca-
tion). Another study showed that the Verdeca ×
Primitivo (Tribidrag) crossing gave us the
Which Wines to Choose and Why
The wine to look for is Collina Milanese, an
IGT in which up to 15 percent Riesling and
Trebbiano Toscano are allowed. Consequently,
there are some Verdea bottlings that are amaz-
ingly steely and mineral, and I always wonder
just how much Riesling found its way into the
wine. In fairness, however, Verdea does make
for very steely, mineral, and fl oral dry wines.
Do not confuse the variety with the DOC San
Colombano al Lambro, which are red wine
blends made with large percentages of Croatina.
Other IGT blends it is used in are Castelfranco
dell'Emilia, Costa Toscana, Ravenna, and
Rubicone.
A good dry Verdea wine will remind you of
green apples and white fl owers. It's a very light,
