Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Refosco
s, Pignolo, and Tazzelenghe are the best-
known red natives. But there are countless other
red native grapes in Friuli Venezia Giulia: some,
like Curvin and Fumat (completely unknown
even to Italians) appear to have quite the future.
White grapes such as Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia
Istriana, and Tocai Friulano make for wonderful
dry white wines, while Verduzzo and Picolit pro-
duce two of Italy's best sweet wines. Little-known
natives such as Ucelut, Sacrestana, and Siora also
abound in the white grape category.
Manna Crespan and Massimo Gardiman of
the Centro Ricerca per la Viticoltura of Coneg-
liano (CRA-VIT) have conducted extensive
research into the genetic variability of ancient
Friuli varieties, recuperating and identifying
old varieties that are essentially unknown today.
From 2001 to 2008, they studied 178 varieties
that reputedly were phenotypically different
(based on supposedly expert fi eld observation)
from any other known Friuli native grape vari-
ety. The vines were subjected to DNA studies
via eleven SSR markers for varietal identifi ca-
tion. These molecular analyses revealed only
ninety-three different genotypes, which were
then compared with the CRAVIT database and
with other published SSR data. Of these, thirty-
eight (twenty-one red, seventeen white) were
found to be unique to Friuli, including three
that weren't even
vinifera;
only fi fteen had been
previously described in existing literature and
ancient documents. The study also showed that
forty-three of the vines studied were in fact
known native varieties (identical to ones listed
within the National Registry), and seven were
actually well-known international varieties.
These numbers show just how hard it is to rec-
ognize grape varieties on looks alone, and how
unreliable phenotyping can be, even when per-
formed by experts. Encouragingly, the fi fteen as
yet unknown varieties have been propagated
and are now the subject of further study.
to east like a sliver of moon. It is the home of
some lovely white wines and a number of idio-
syncratic reds. The wines of Liguria are among
the easiest to get to know in all of Italy, since
they are usually labeled with the variety name,
such as Vermentino or Pigato, both native
grapes. Current knowledge deems Pigato a bio-
type of Vermentino that mutated over the cen-
turies. Not surprisingly, this being Italy, others
feel differently and maintain it's not at all the
same grape. In the bucolic Unesco World Heri-
tage site known as the Cinque Terre, natives
Albarola and Bosco are usually blended but
pure bottlings of each can be found.
A recent study by Mannini, Schneider,
Argamante, Moggia, and Tragni (2010) has
greatly contributed to safeguarding the cultiva-
tion of the local, minor grape varieties of east-
ern Liguria. The Levante, or eastern portion of
Liguria, is characterized by a mountain viticul-
ture whose main varieties are Albarola, Bosco,
and Vermentino, but it is also rich in little-
known natives such as Frappelao Bianco, Ruzz-
ese, Piccabòn, Rollo (not Rolle, which is Ver-
mentino), Rossese Bianco, and Scimiscia'. The
IVV-CNR (Istituto di Virologia Vegetale: Con-
siglio Nazionale delle Ricerche) has been con-
ducting research on this local grape germplasm
for years. In 2005, they set up an experimental
vineyard in the Cinque Terre National Park at
Riomaggiore and planted little-known local cul-
tivars, with Albarola and Vernaccia di San
Gimignano serving as controls. Vines were
studied and collected in order to save them
from extinction and were thus also introduced
into the permanent collections of the IVV-CNR
in Grinzane Cavour, and into a second genetic
source collection of only Ligurian natives in
Albenga, near Savona. So successful were the
fi ndings that Rossese Bianco, Ruzzese, and Sci-
miscia' were eventually registered in the
National Registry. By 2008 and 2009, fi eld
observations and winemaking results indicated
Ruzzese (also known as Rossese Bianco di
Arcola), Rossese Bianco, and Piccabòn wines to
be most promising. Furthermore, the study
showed that Piccabòn is, it turns out, identical
Liguria
The ribbon-shaped region of Liguria, immedi-
ately south of Piedmont, arches out from west
