Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
wines are rustic and uninteresting, an absolute
shame considering this region's climate, soils,
and grape varieties, which should instead ena-
ble it to do spectacularly well. Perhaps part of
the problem lies with Gaglioppo, a native red
variety that is probably not one of the world's
great grapes: low in anthocyanins and high in
rough tannins, its wines are often dusty and
charmless. That said, some very well-made
Gaglioppo wines have recently seen the light of
day. There are however many promising varie-
ties in Calabria, such as the red
Magliocco
s or
the white Mantonico (not to be confused with
the Montonico Bianco of Marche and Abruzzo)
and Greco Bianco (not to be confused with the
Greco of Campania, or other
Greco
varieties
present all over Italy) that are fi nally being stud-
ied and cultivated. Then again, since Greco
Bianco has been recently shown to be Malvasia
delle Lipari, it really isn't a
Greco
at all (for more
on it, see the entry for
Malvasia
). Calabria, and
wine lovers everywhere, ought to be thankful
for the superhuman efforts in time, energy, and
money devoted by the Librandi estate to local
Calabrian grape varieties. Indeed, almost all
useful work and research on Calabria's native
grapes in the last fi fteen years has come thanks
to this estate's involvement, something the
Librandi family deserves great credit for.
have, until recently, made neutral, lackluster
wine but better winemaking techniques and
vineyard care are behind the many crisp, min-
erally-scented, fresh white wines of today.
Grillo holds real promise, as does Carricante:
the latter grows well only in the high altitudes
of the Etna volcano (at about 1,800 to 3,000 feet
above sea level) in eastern Sicily. Inzolia (called
Ansonica on Tuscany's coast) and Grecanico
are increasingly used on their own as well. Mal-
vasia delle Lipari and Moscato di Alessandria or
Zibibbo (muscat of Alexandria) are the force
behind monumentally good sweet wines.
Unfortunately, back in the 1980s, many Sicil-
ian producers opted for large plantings of
Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, not to
mention Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Besides the foolishness of trying to compete
with the plethora of fi ne wines made from
these varieties all over the world, these are tow-
ering examples of bad viticultural decisions, as
it's just too hot on almost the entire island for
the latter three varieties. Of course, you are wel-
come to believe the producer mantra that the
high hillside vineyards offset this problem; I
don't. Commendably, Sicily's regional govern-
ments have been among the leaders over the
years in funding agricultural research pro-
grams; thus, Sicily's many little-known natives
have been much better characterized than oth-
ers. The Istituto della Vite e del Vino, now
renamed Istituto Regionale del Vino e dell'Olio,
is a model of effi ciency and a helpful think tank
for the island's many producers. Sicily, its pro-
ducers, and the many different regional govern-
ments in place there over the last thirty years all
deserve praise for having always been at the
forefront of native grape variety research. Well
done!
Sicily
Sicily's native red grape varieties are dominated
by Nero d'Avola, which is grown all over Sicily
save for its northeastern corner, where Nerello
Mascalese reigns instead. The latter is usually
blended with Nerello Cappuccio, another
native, which is low in tannins but rich in color
(the opposite is true of Nerello Mascalese).
Nonetheless, interesting pure versions of each
are being produced. Other native red varieties
are Frappato, Nocera, and Perricone; Corinto
Nero (which some experts consider to be a
seedless mutation of Sangiovese) is usually
blended with other varieties, as is Acitana, of
which very few vines are left in the wild. There
are many more. Native Sicilian white grapes
Sardinia
Sardinia, much like Campania, has long
insisted on its native grape varieties, though
most of Sardinia's grapes are actually recent
arrivals, due to four centuries of Spanish domi-
nation. Hence the likes of Vermentino (better
