Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
resistant to botrytis. However, according to
Manzo and Monaco (2001) the grape has trou-
ble building up sugar levels and is low in total
acidity, though this may be due to the usually
high yields.
mous with Piedirosso, Streppa Rossa, and Man-
giaguerra, varieties historically also grown in the
provinces of Naples and Salerno. It also appears
to grow in southern Lazio, where it is more com-
monly called Uva Serpe, though it is unclear if
the latter variety is identical to the one grown in
Campania, or even if Serpentara and Uva Serpe
aren't distinct: DNA studies are lacking to date. It
is an extremely ancient variety, apparently men-
tioned by Columella in the fi rst century
C
.
E
. as
Dracontion (meaning snake). Apparently it was
fi rst brought into Italy by the Spartans, and was
later part of the
cecubum
blend. Vigorous and
pest-resistant, it has a conical, medium-small
bunch and small, blue-black, round berries that
stain remarkably permanently with their dark
juice. It is used mainly as a blending agent in the
wines of the DOC Costa d'Amalfi plus various
IGT wines; in Lazio a number of producers,
including Terre delle Ginestre, are actively culti-
vating and studying it. It is likely we shall see a
monovarietal wine in the near future; microvini-
fi cations seem encouraging enough thus far.
Scarsafoglia
where it's found:
Emilia-Romagna.
national
registry code number:
458.
color:
white.
Scarsafoglia was added to the National Reg-
istry in 2011, though it was fi rst described in
1839 by Gallesio, who named it as one of the
grapes used to make the then-famous wines
of Scandiano. Aggazzotti (1867) and Di
Rovasenda (1877) also described it, calling it
Squarciafoglia Bianca. Some producers believe
it to be a biotype of Trebbiano Toscano. The
Barbolini estate in Emilia-Romagna makes a
wine called Il Civolino, which is mainly Scar-
safoglia with small additions of Chardonnay
and Pinot Bianco.
Scroccona
Sgavetta
where it's found:
Emilia-Romagna.
national
registry code number:
not registered.
color:
white.
Described in 1923 by Antonio Bazzocchi in
his
Ampelography of Romagnoli Wines,
Scroc-
cona has always been common in the province
of Rimini. It has a large bunch and large ber-
ries, and so always has doubled as a table grape.
It's a productive and resistant variety, with very
sweet berries that often never make it to the cel-
lar: since there's not much of it in the rows,
harvesters just choose to eat it while picking the
other more abundant varieties.
where it's found:
Emilia-Romagna.
national
registry code number:
228.
color:
red.
Grown today in the vineyards around
Modena and Reggio Emilia, Sgavetta is a rela-
tively recent variety first described by Di
Rovasenda in 1877 (who thought it was related to
the
Schiava
s); Ghetti in 1926 and Toni in 1927
wrote that it was one of the highest quality
grapes from which to make wine around the ter-
ritories of Modena and Reggio Emilia. It appears
to be different from Sgavetta a Raspo Rosso (that
is, with a red stalk), which is grown in minimal
quantities around Modena. The bunch is
medium-sized, long, pyramidal, and very sparse.
The berries are round, medium-sized, deformed,
blue-black, and thick skinned. It is usually har-
vested in the latter third of September. It sup-
plies color to other, lighter-hued wines. Appar-
ently a small producer called Morsi Franzoni is
making experimental batches of a sgavetta wine.
Serpentaria or Uva Serpe
where it's found:
Campania, Lazio.
national
registry code number:
not registered.
color:
red.
This variety has long engendered confusion,
with various experts considering it to be synony-
