italian native wines
Little known but high-quality italian vines
A certainty regarding the peculiarities of Italian wine is this, the wealth of native vines that places us in a position of absolute primacy, unattainable. I would like to underline, an even greater wealth, which is a sort of subset in which all Italian varietals are enclosed and we are talking about vines unknown or semi-unknown to most people, the credit for this rediscovery goes to a few, to brave winemakers, and thanks to their perseverance and tenacity they have been rediscovered and valorized today in order to give even more territorial identity to their Wine.
I am a lover of “unknown vines”, I would like to focus my attention on some of them that give life to excellent wines, and many of them have limited production, the reasons are very simple, very few plants left, because they are often uprooted to make room for new plants of more well-known vines. Of course my list is not in order of importance, but it is specific for all wine lovers, with the intent to push you to search for and taste these wines produced with these grapes in most cases very rare, this could be a great support that will serve to enrich the Italian wine heritage:
Ribona or Maceratino:
A very rare native white grape variety, grown only in the Marche hinterland and more precisely in the province of Macerata. Rich in tannin and acidic backbone, it can give life to whites of great longevity, especially if grown on soils rich in minerals. Cantine Fontezoppa and Boccadigabbia produce excellent ones.
Garofanata:
Once cultivated between the Misa and Suasa valleys, between the provinces of Ancona and Pesaro, it had almost completely disappeared, when the Terracruda winery in Fratte Rosa thought it would be a good idea to start a rediscovery project, reinterpreting it in a modern way and thus protecting it from extinction.
Burson:
The Longanesi grape, also called Bursona in the Romagna dialect, is a native vine of the Ravenna area and today there are approximately 200 hectares of vineyards. Very few wineries cultivate this vine with a history that is, to say the least, singular. In fact, it was only in 1920 that Aldo Longanesi found a vine unknown to him, clinging to an old oak tree, on his farm in Bagnacavallo, and then decided to use it to make pure wine. Today, the winemaking technique is very similar to that of Amarone, with long drying and great attention to wood aging. Tenuta Uccellina was one of the first to believe in this native vine and is flying the Burson flag in Italy and around the world. Also in Romagna, also produced by Tenuta Uccellina and other nearby companies, I would like to point out the Famoso or Rambela, a very versatile and very pleasant white grape variety.
Centesimino:
We are still in Romagna and still a story that is nothing short of original. Centesimino is a native vine from the area of Ravenna, Forlì, Cesena and Faenza. It seems that this vine has been present in the area since the 1960s: it is said that the numerous plants planted in that period in the Oriolo dei Fichi area came from previous plantings, in turn made with material found in a vineyard in the “Podere Terbato” owned by Mr. Pietro Pianori, known as Centesimino, which represented his stinginess. I encountered this vine for the first time a few days ago in a glass of Monteterbato from Cantina San Biagio Vecchio and I was fascinated by its decisive, but never out of place, aromatic impact, as well as by its structure, elegance and persistence (to be fixed by rereading it).
Ruché:
A great Piedmontese native variety that is becoming increasingly well-known and with great success among wine lovers. Rediscovered thanks to two people from Castagnole Monferrato: the parish priest Don Giacomo Cauda who at the end of the seventies dedicated himself with great enthusiasm to the production of Ruchè, and the mayor Lidia Bianco – former secretary of the agricultural school of Asti – who worked hard to have it assigned the controlled designation of origin, which was obtained in 1987.
The etymology of this native vine is uncertain as the local toponymy does not even in ancient times include sites to which the name Ruchè can be clearly traced. Some, however, hypothesize a link with the presence in Portacomano (one of the seven municipalities where Ruchè is produced) of a Benedictine church dedicated to San Rocco. Still others think that the name may derive from the steep and sun-scorched hilly places (rocche) where this vine gives its best.
The fact is that with Ruché excellent wines are produced, in particular I point out those of Cantine Sant’Agata, those of Montalbera and the Ruché of Az. Agr. Luca Ferraris, all with different peculiarities, but of the highest quality, which can make you appreciate a range of nuances that only Ruché can show off with such impetuous elegance.
Nascetta:
The Nascetta or native grape of the Albese, grown on the hills between Barolo and Novello
A semi-aromatic grape that gives life to truly interesting, but predictable, wines also thought to have great potential in terms of longevity. Anna Maria Abbona’s Netta winery is very good.
Biancolella:
The Biancolella grape variety is typical of Campania, in particular of the province of Naples and especially of the island of Ischia, where Biancolella is the queen of the local white varieties, despite its very low production. It is a very ancient grape variety and is said to come from Corsica, where it still exists.
Today it is grown under the name of Petite Blanche. The Giardini Arimei winery, which not only preserves this strain, but continues to grow others, even less known, such as: Forastera, Uva Rilla, San Lunardo, Coglionara.
Pietra Box and its wine obtained from overripe grapes are integral and harmonious expressions of an island that, let’s not forget, was the first Mediterranean area of cultivation and diffusion of Vitis vinifera (around 500 BC).A semi-aromatic grape that gives life to truly interesting, but predictable, wines also thought to have great potential in terms of longevity. Anna Maria Abbona’s Netta winery is very good.
Cococciola:
A white grape variety from Abruzzo (also present in Puglia), also called Cacciola or Cacciuola.
Previously used mainly for blending Trebbiano, in order to give it greater freshness, today it is also vinified in purity and even for sparkling wine. The vine is mentioned in the work of two illustrious French ampelographers, Viala and Vermorel. We are talking about a vine grown in a very limited area, which includes, in the Chieti area, the municipalities of Villamagna, Vacri, Ari and Rocca San Giovanni. One of my best tastings of Cococciola is certainly the one relating to Brilla from the Cantina Marchesi del Cordano.
Foglia Tonda:
The Foglia Tonda vine is a native variety that has its roots in history, so much so that it can be found even in viticulture treatises from the mid-nineteenth century.
Originating from Tuscany and specifically from the southern area of Siena, its cultivation was abandoned because, with the type of pruning with renewable shoots (guyot or upside down), it was overproducing, giving rise to low-quality wines.
Rediscovered and brought back into fashion by the commitment of Donatella Cinelli Colombini, today it contributes to the production of excellent quality wines such as, indeed, the Cenerentola (Orcia Doc) of the Fattoria del Colle di Donatella.
