Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
work with. Nevertheless, I am glad to see that
producers are increasingly producing monova-
rietal wines with it, undoubtedly buoyed by
consumer interest in midweight, perfumed
red wines: though I caution readers that Ves-
polina only seems like a medium-bodied
wine. In fact, its wines can be characterized by
very tough tannins, depending on what pro-
ducers do in the vineyards and in the cellar;
their actions will go a long way in determining
how successful they are with this variety. But
in the hands of a talented producer, Vespolina
can achieve halcyon heights that most other
varieties, not just those of Italy, can't remotely
aspire to. Perhaps the greatness of Vespolina
can be explained by the fact that it is a progeny
of Nebbiolo (Schneider, Boccacci, Torello Mari-
noni, Botta, Akkak, and Vouillamoz 2004),
making it a half sibling of other Nebbiolo prog-
enies: Bubbierasco, Brugnola, Freisa, Nebbiolo
Rosé, Negretta, Neretto di Bairo, and Rossola
Nera.
Vespolina was fi rst described by Acerbi
(1825) and then by Gallesio ([1817] 1839), who
called it
Vitis vinifera circumpadana,
while today
almost the only synonym used is Ughetta, or
Uvetta di Canneto in Lombardy. With the
advent of phylloxera, Vespolina cultivation
declined, for Vespolina is less resistant than
other varieties to disease and it adapted poorly
to American rootstocks, with irregular grape
ripening and production. As it is extremely
subject to dissection of the spine, magnesium
and potassium soil concentrations are very
important and must be monitored closely, and
the choice of rootstock is also very important.
This also means that the grapes have a ten-
dency to start dehydrating directly on the vine;
a welcome event when it happens just before
harvest (it concentrates the aromas and fl avors
of pepper and red cherry), but an absolute
nightmare when it occurs in August or so,
because the grapes never recover and fail to
ripen fully. It's a low-productivity variety, so
green harvests aren't especially necessary: a
simple deleafi ng will suffi ce to help the grapes
reach optimal ripeness, but very deep fertile
soils are best avoided because they hamper
maturation.
Like Uva Rara and Bonarda, Vespolina is
one of the many native red grapes of northeast-
ern Piedmont and Lombardy (especially in the
provinces of Novara, Vercelli, Varese, and
Pavia).
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Vespolina has always been used to make
DOCG, DOC, and IGT blends of note. As it is
blessed with plenty of polyphenols, monovarie-
tal wines are both dark and tannic, and this
explains why producers have always preferred
using it as a blending agent rather than trying
it solo. In Piedmont it is often blended with
Nebbiolo, Croatina, and Uva Rara to make the
world-class wines of Boca, Gattinara, Ghemme,
and Lessona. Other DOC wines worth hunting
down are Bramaterra, Coste della Sesia, Colline
Novaresi, Fara, Oltrepò Pavese, and Sizzano.
Most monovarietal versions are labeled Coste
della Sesia or Colline Novaresi, and they can be
mesmerizingly good wines.
While monovarietal versions are uncom-
mon, they can increasingly be found, for
Vespolina yields wines that are not only very
intensely colored and tannic, but also perfumed
and bright. Skin contact is kept short, roughly
four to seven days at no more than 28°C (no
sense leaching out even more tannin), followed
by eighteen to twenty-four months in the barrel
or the bottle to help soften the wine. A well-
made vespolina is a thing of beauty. There are
few red grapes in the world that can make a
wine seem like a red-fruit cocktail, and
Vespolina is one of them. The best wines have
aromas that are reminiscent of those made with
Nebbiolo and Pinot Nero, but are usually more
spicy. Hence, the wines have lightish red colors,
with penetratingly intense and pure sour red-
cherry and red-berry aromas, lifted by balsamic
notes, roses, violets, and spices (cinnamon,
marjoram, and white pepper, especially) on the
nose, and mouthwatering acidity and juicy red-
berry fl avors on the palate that will make you
not want to put the glass back down. The pep-
