Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Alionza is also known as Aleonza, Glionza,
Uva Lonza, Aglionga Bianca, and confusingly,
Uva Schiava. It was probably present in the
countryside around Modena and Bologna even
before Tanara wrote of it in 1674; Trinci and
Acerbi also mention it, but it is only thanks to
the Commissione Ampelografi ca Bolognese
(Bologna Ampelography Committee) of 1874
that Alionza is described in detail. However,
the wine must have had merits since it appears
that already in the fi fteenth century, Cesare
Borgia, after having tasted it, sent two small
barrels (under armed escort!) to Pope Alexan-
der VI. Toni (1927) wrote that Alionza was one
of the grape varieties that helped improve the
quality of wine made around Bologna. All
authors seem to concur that the wine made
from it was of high quality, a neat trick given
the 2001 suggestion by Filippetti, Silvestroni,
Thomas, and Intrieri that it might be related to
Trebbiano Toscano. Alionza is characterized by
a large, long, pyramidal bunch, sparse, with
one or two big wings. The round, yellow, thick-
skinned berries are large. An early ripener (in
the fi rst ten days of September), it was aban-
doned, like many other varieties, due to poor
productivity. There are currently only forty-
three hectares under vine to Alionza in Italy,
thirteen of which are near Bologna, its original
home. The farmers who still apparently have
Alionza in their vineyards include Walter Baiesi
(1.1 hectares), Fernando Carretti (0.6 hectare),
Guglielmo Falchieri (0.8 hectare), Mauro Ba-
roni (1.3 hectares), and Laura Malaguti (1.5
hectares). It is part of the blend of the DOC
Reno, and I am not aware of any pure bottling.
The few artisanally made wines I have tried are
perfumed, fresh, with notes of green apple,
herbs, and yellow fl owers. I may be wrong, but
I think this wine deserves better than its pres-
ent sorry fate.
Alvarega is a recently described variety
grown in the Logudoro, in central-north Sar-
dinia, around Ozieri. Cara (1909), in his trea-
tise on the grape varieties of Sardinia, refers to
large-scale cultivation of this variety and notes
that it was much sought after by the local nobil-
ity. Thanks to the passion and energy of a group
of local wine growers, the Associazione Alva-
rega di Ozieri, the variety has been brought
back to national attention. These devoted volun-
teers sampled and selected the few Alvarega
grapevines remaining back in 2003 and had
them propagated. Alvarega is now the subject
of ampelographic and genetic studies, with the
aim of having it recognized as a distinct culti-
var and getting it offi cially included in the
National Registry of Grape Varieties. Micro-
vinifi cations have been performed in the 2008,
2009, and 2010 vintages. Though I have yet to
see the genetic data compiled, early informa-
tion I have been given suggests that Alvarega is
a distinct cultivar, and different from the Alvu-
signadu (or Arvesiniadu) variety also grown
around Ozieri. The jury's out until we know
more.
wines to try:
Tonino Arcadu of Cantine Gos-
tolai and Paolo Cardu, winemaker at Cantina di
Monserrato, help produce Nobile Tola, the only
monovarietal Alvarega wine I know. The wine
is bright and fresh, sporting only 13 percent
alcohol and reminds me of dried apricots,
almonds, and fresh bread. Curiously, the late
Giovanni Battista Columbu's excellent Malvasia
Planargia is called Alvarega, which might not
be a great idea.
Angela
where it's found:
Emilia-Romagna.
national
registry code number:
not registered.
color:
white.
Angela was once common in vineyards
around Bologna, where in the nineteenth cen-
tury it was part of the estimated fi fty thousand
quintals of table grapes produced each year.
Today, though it has always been consumed as
Alvarega
where it's found:
Sardinia.
national regis-
try code number:
not registered.
color:
white.
