Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
evaluations, carried out by different experts on
different grapevines, yielded essentially the
same results. Despite OIV descriptors, they con-
cluded they could not exclude some subjectivity
on the part of different experts from Italy,
Spain, and Croatia, who made descriptions in
the fi eld. Whether these differences were due to
diverse interactions between genotype and
environment or were a consequence of muta-
tions accumulated over centuries is unclear. In
this respect, it is noteworthy that Galet (2000)
classifi ed Malvasia di Sardegna in a different
group from the others only on the basis of the
presence of hairs on the lower side of the leaf.
Pastena (1993) also highlighted the great varia-
bility of some morphologic parameters in dif-
ferent Malvasia di Lipari grapevines, in particu-
lar bunch length (18-40 cm) and berry
dimensions. A very interesting study by Barba,
Di Lernia, Chiota, Carimi, Carra, and Abbate
(2008) showed that all the Malvasia di Lipari
accessions studied on the islands are affected
either by fanleaf virus or leaf roll virus, which
may go a long way in explaining the diverse
phenotypes of this variety relative to Greco
Bianco and other
Malvasia
s. That said, and not
surprisingly, Calabrian producers like Ceratti
do not believe their Greco Bianco is identical to
Malvasia di Lipari. Currently, there are an esti-
mated one hundred hectares of Greco Bianco
growing in Calabria, though it can be planted in
other Italian regions as well, such as Basilicata,
Lazio, Puglia, and Umbria.
Malvasia di Lipari seems logical, since the latter
variety has always been associated with abso-
lutely fantastic sweet wine production.
Greco di Bianco is the only air-dried wine to
be granted DOC status in Calabria: it's typical
of the lower Ionian (eastern) coast of the region.
It should not to be confused with the wine
labeled DOC Greco Bianco Cirò, which is made
only as a dry white wine. In my mind, the
grand
cru
areas for Greco di Bianco are undoubtedly
Palazzi and Santa Anna at Bianco. Greco
Bianco is also used to make the wine called
Greco di Gerace, now essentially made by only
a few locals for home consumption, though
Veronelli (1989) cited it as one of Italy's greatest
sweet wines. I last tried a Greco di Gerace
roughly ten years ago, made by the only local
farmer who still toiled at the craft; production
has since ceased. Though the farmer clearly
didn't believe in fi lters, the cloudy, sediment-
rich wine was excellent, incredibly thick and
textured, with lingering honeyed, tropical-fruit
aromas and fl avors. I hope this wine will soon
make a comeback.
Greco Bianco can also be used as part of
blends to make the DOCG Lazio wines of Fras-
cati and Frascati Cannellino (a light-bodied,
delicately sweet wine), Calabria's DOC wines
Bivongi, Cirò, and Savuto (among others), as
well as Lazio's Marino DOC wine; and many
IGT wines such as Lazio's Frusinate; Puglia's
Daunia, Murgia, and Valle d'Itria; and Umbria's
Narni and Spello. With few exceptions, none of
these are particularly exciting.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
In conclusion, current wisdom is that Malvasia
di Lipari and Calabria's Greco Bianco are in fact
the same variety, but caveat emptor, because
the National Registry does not yet recognize
this. It seems almost unfair to point out then
that Italy's best
Greco
variety is in fact a
Malva-
sia.
I believe Greco Bianco to be the best
Greco
of all because just like Riesling, and unlike
Chardonnay or Greco itself, Greco Bianco has
the unique ability to give both fantastic sweet
wines and very good dry ones. In this light, the
proposed identity between Greco Bianco and
wines to try:
Stelitano*** (their Greco di
Bianco is a work of art), Ceratti**, Lucà**, and
Lavorata*.
Greco Giallo
where it's found:
Lazio.
national registry
code number:
not registered.
color:
white.
Though there are historically many grape
varieties that were referred to as Greco Giallo,
sometimes interchangeably and erroneously
with Trebbiano Giallo, the only true Greco
