Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Abrostine, Donato Lanati with Magliocco Dolce
and Mantonico—and there are many other
examples. Many of these native wines have met
with both critical and commercial success. In
wine, rather than uprooting and replanting,
sometimes just settling down and playing the
cards you've been dealt is the right move.
of wine can be made. The grapes themselves
often show asynchronous maturation, meaning
that the same bunch has green, unripe berries
next to fully ripe ones. Unless the unripe ber-
ries are removed (an expensive, time-consum-
ing process, since it usually needs to be done by
hand, unless the estate is wealthy enough to
own a very expensive optical sorting machine),
the wine will have green, vegetal aromas and
fl avors. The hypothetical effect of an asynchro-
nous mix on a wine's aroma and fl avor profi le
has been well illustrated by Coombe and Iland
(1987). Matters such as the best soils, root-
stocks, and trellising systems for natives are
still mainly a matter of conjecture. Another
problem is the poor quality of nursery-propa-
gated vine material. For instance, Tuscan pro-
ducers will tell you that much of the Sangiovese
replanted in the 1970s was a poor-quality bio-
type from Emilia-Romagna; for this reason,
they prefer to call their truly Tuscan variety
Sangioveto. Sardinia's Cannonao is not all one
and the same, as the Tocai Rosso biotype from
Veneto has been planted there in great quantity
too; but, at least on Sardinia, Tocai Rosso pro-
duces wines of a quality inferior to those made
from the island's original Cannonao vines.
Antiquated winemaking has threatened and
damaged native grapes. In times past, grapes in
a single vineyard were picked all at the same
time, regardless of optimal maturity curves,
and so musts of some varieties were completely
oxidized and devoid of acidity; dull, fl at wines
were the norm. Lack of cellar hygiene also con-
tributed to wine spoilage and consequently
impeded our appreciation of what native grapes
could really give. However, modern winemak-
ing technology can also prove dangerous to Ita-
ly's natives. In this respect, the role of yeasts is
illuminating. It is well known that different
strains of
Saccharomyces cerevisiae,
the main
yeast species used in alcoholic fermentation,
can lead to very different enological results even
when the same grape variety, grown in similar
terroir
s, is used. This is because each species of
yeast leads to the formation of different second-
ary metabolites during fermentation, which
A Simple Question of Authenticity
Given the current trend toward authenticity in
food and drink, native grapes and wines have
become all the rage. Just as local produce holds
immense appeal, and starred chefs pride—and
sell—themselves on their use of locally sourced
or even home-grown products, the same is true
of wines. Therein lies many a problem. For
example, many new bottles labeled Pecorino or
Minutolo have miraculously appeared on store
shelves. This is simply not possible. Many of
Italy's natives are reduced to a few rows of vines
dispersed here and there, and it is highly
unlikely that, say, twenty estates can all of a sud-
den produce thousands of bottles. Many suppos-
edly monovarietal bottlings made with native
grapes taste nothing like they should. Unfortu-
nately, too many “native” wines are made by
unscrupulous people who aren't above—or
rather below—blending unauthorized grape
varieties into wines supposedly made solely
with a native grape, in order to have something
that sells well. The acreage of long-abandoned
native grapes is small at best, so caveat emptor
.
“Native Grapes Aren't Really that Good”:
Viticultural and Winemaking Diffi culties
Given that they were forgotten (with very few
exceptions) for almost all of the twentieth cen-
tury, little is known about native grapes, both
viticulturally and enologically. Problems with
native grapes start in the vineyard, where most
have been co-planted with more common varie-
ties, regardless of soil and other differences.
Many native plants are infected by viruses and
don't grow particularly well, or give scrawny
grape bunches from which only small volumes
