Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
land and planted grapes, Zinfandel (Italy's
Primitivo) was one of the fi rst grapes they
decided to try, likely because it reminded at least
some of them of home. Edoardo Seghesio joined
in 1886 and planted his fi rst Primitivo/Zinfan-
del/Tribidrag (apparently all synonyms) vines
in 1895. He even renamed a local train station
Chianti Station and planted other Tuscan varie-
ties. Unless I am mistaken, the Sangiovese
vines planted there are the oldest surviving San-
giovese vines in North America. Apparently, the
Seghesio family was also the fi rst to plant
Arneis in California (in 1992) and Fiano (in
2003). Unti Vineyards in Sonoma is trying Dol-
cetto; VJB Vineyards is producing Primitivo
Sangiovese, and even Aglianico. In Texas, New
Mexico, Virginia, Oregon, Washington, and
North Carolina, Italian native grapes are grac-
ing the countryside. In Australia, New Zealand,
Chile, Argentina, and other countries, the song
remains the same. If you're an optimist, this
means that consumers everywhere are bound to
have an ever-increasing shot at tasting what
monovarietal wines made with specifi c Italian
native grape varieties are really all about. And if
you're a pessimist? The same!
tion the most common varieties grown—please
refer to grape variety entries in subsequent
chapters for much more in-depth information
on each cultivar.
Valle d'Aosta
Italy's smallest region but a giant when it comes
to wine quality, Valle d'Aosta is Italy's least-
known viticultural region, but has always been
at the forefront of native variety research and
conservation of its germplasm. Nestled high in
the Alps on the border with France, this is the
French-speaking part of Italy and a place where
native grapes have thrived for centuries.
Undoubtedly, the high alpine country and its
geographic location far removed from major
commercial routes helped the
valdostani
pre-
serve their rich biodiversity. Alongside foreign
varieties (mainly Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio,
Pinot Nero, and Syrah), there are fourteen
native cultivars ubiquitously grown today; a
survey by Gatta dating from 1833 to 1838 men-
tions more than twenty supposedly native vari-
eties known already then. The academic Insti-
tut Agricole Régional, a government-funded
learning and research institution founded in
1951 as the Ecole d'Agriculture d'Aoste has con-
tributed immensely over the years to the growth
of a local workforce both proud and knowledge-
able about its native cultivars. It set up the
region's fi rst experimental vineyards in the
1960s. In 2007, the Institut Agricole Régional
further enlarged its varietal collection and cre-
ated a germplasm bank of local native and tra-
ditional varieties. Today, it is also a leading
producer of quality wines.
Until recently, Prié was the region's only
native white grape, but in 2007 the Bianco
Comune variety, long thought extinct, was
rediscovered and identifi ed in two old vine-
yards. Among the red grapes, Fumin is the
most important native red variety, along with
Petit Rouge; while the latter is more abundant,
it is the former that yields the higher quality
wines. Nebbiolo lovers might opt for Donnas,
which is the only other Nebbiolo-based wine
WHERE NATIVES TREAD: A QUICK
SUMMARY OF ITALY'S NATIVE GRAPES
BY REGION
At times, it really does seem like Italy has more
grape varieties than it knows what to do with.
Part of the reason is that Italy remained, for the
longest time, a collection of different people
speaking different languages, with different
cultures and eating and drinking habits—some
would say this is still very true today. Further-
more, the very mountainous landscape (roughly
70 percent of the country is made up of moun-
tains and the hills leading up to those moun-
tains) led to the geographic isolation of many
areas. As we have seen, in Italy many varieties
became entrenched in their local territories and
thus were integral parts of their local cultures
over centuries, as they still are today. Under the
following regional headings I will briefl y men-
