Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
such as those by Bailiwick in Sonoma, Tablas
Creek in Paso Robles, and Uvaggio in Lodi. In
Australia, look for wines by Chalmers, Fox
Creek, Brown Brothers, Box Grove Vineyard,
and Berton (the wine is called Spotlight). There
are many more.
suggest it was already grown on the Ligurian
coast in the sixteenth century. Diego Bosoni, of
the Lunae Bosoni estate in La Spezia, believes
that “we are really only starting out with this
cultivar, and it will take time to understand it
fully. We do think that it has amazing potential
and that the wines can be remarkably interest-
ing, both as
rosato
and
rosso.
In fact, after our
fi rst three vintages of a
rosato,
we plan to come
out with a red wine soon too.” Looks like the
other Vermentino is on the path back from
oblivion.
Vermentino Nero has long been confused
with Merlot, according to Stefano Dini: “That's
why many Vermentino Nero wines were inky,
when in fact a wine truly made with Vermen-
tino Nero is not so deeply hued. It's easy to tell
the two apart, all you need to do is look at the
leaves.” Vermentino Nero is also a much later
ripener than Merlot, and is usually picked at
the end of September or the beginning of Octo-
ber. It is also especially sensitive to oidium:
Dini throws his hands up in the air recalling
how “one little row of Vermentino Nero was hit
by oidium and it spread the stuff to over seven
hectares of nearby Chardonnay. If we didn't
pull up all the Vermentino Nero on the estate
immediately at that time, I guess we never
will.” In Tuscany, there are roughly seventy hec-
tares of Vermentino Nero grown today, more
than half of which are found near Massa
Carrara.
wines to try:
Ottaviano Lambruschi*** (Sar-
ticola is unfortunately no longer made; the
Costa Marina is just as good, fruitier and
almondy), Giacomelli*** (Boboli), Bisson**
(Vigna Erta), Maria Donata Bianchi**, Poggio
dei Gorleri** (Vigna Sorì and Vermentino),
Laura Aschero*, and Terre Bianche*. For the
best pigatos, try: Bruna*** (especially U Bacan,
balsamic and rich), Cascina delle Terre Rosse**
(Apogeo and Pigato), BioVio** (Bon in da Bon,
from slightly late-harvested grapes), Claudio
Vio** (U Grottu, late harvested and with lots of
bâtonnage
), Sancio**, Durin*, Laura Aschero*,
and La Vecchia Cantina* (Passito; also makes a
rare air-dried pigato, unfortunately in homeo-
pathic quantities that you'll likely only be able
to try on your next Ligurian vacation).
Vermentino Nero
where it's found:
Liguria, Tuscany.
national
registry code number:
259.
color:
red.
A rare variety, Vermentino Nero was essen-
tially saved from extinction by the Podere Scur-
tarola estate in the 1980s. Not much is known
about the variety, but it appears not to be a
mutation of the better known Vermentino and
is rather a separate variety. Also, there is no
DNA evidence I know of to support synonymity
with any other variety. Pierpaolo Lorieri of
Podere Scurtarola is certainly the biggest expert
on the variety today (his 2000 and 2001 offer-
ings were particularly good). His fi rst vintage
was 1989, and he remembers not being too
positive or sure about the variety at the time.
According to Lorieri, Vermentino Nero origi-
nated in the hills surrounding Massa, about
halfway up the coast between Livorno in Tus-
cany and Genoa in Liguria, and was fi rst men-
tioned in print in 1874, though other sources
Which Wines to Choose and Why
It is used in the DOCs Candia dei Colli Apuane,
Colline Pisane, and Colline Lucchesi, while in
Liguria it can be included in IGT wines such as
Golfo dei Poeti and the DOC Colli di Luni.
The wine is rich in black fruit aromas and
fl avors, with coffee nuances; some producers,
fi nding the latter too intense, prefer to blend it
with other varieties. There are both mid-
weight, fresh wines and bigger, full-bodied
ones, depending on what the producer is out to
achieve. With acidities ranging around 5.8
grams per liter, extracts of 30 grams per liter,
and alcohol levels around 13.5 percent, and not
