Italian Varieties – T to Z

 

Guado al Tasso, Bolgheri, a leading producer of Vermentino (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

 

T

Tazzelenghe

Red variety of Friuli with harsh tannins that inspired its unique name, translated as “cutting the tongue.”

Teroldego

Red variety of Trentino with deep color, ripe berrry fruit and good acidity. 

Timorasso

High acid white variety of Piemonte. Often used in the production of grappa, though a few producers – most notably Massa – make an excellent dry version.

Trebbiano

White variety planted throughout much of Italy; generally a blender with modest aromatics and high acidity. Trebbiano di Soave is one of the most highly regarded subvarieties.

 

U

Uva di Troia

Also known as Nero di Troia. Excellent red variety found in northern Puglia. Moderate tannins, good acidity and cherry, berry fruit. The principal red variety of Castel del Monte DOC.

 

Uva di Troia vineyards near Castel del Monte (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

 

V

Verdicchio

White variety of Marche. Generally aged in stainless steel, though a few producers age in oak. Many versions are light with pleasant pear and apple fruit; there are some excellent bottlings that offer more fruit intensity and spice.

Verduzzo Friulano

White variety of Friuli, primarily in the Colli Orientali DOC. Used to produce a dry white, but also a famous sweet white named Ramondolo. Apricot and pear flavors with lively acidity.

Vermentino

White variety grown in Sardegna, Liguria and the coast of Tuscany (especially in Bolgheri). Very high acidity with flavors of pear, lime and pine and often notes of sea salt with a distinct minerality. 

Vernaccia

Two distinct examples: Vernaccia di San Gimignano is a refreshing, dry white wiht moderate acidity made as a light, dry white. Vernaccia di Oristano is a sweeter white from Sardegna that is sherry-like.

Vespaiola

White from Veneto made as a lush, apricot and honeyed dessert wine called Torcolato.

 

Z

Zibibbo

Name for Moscato in Sicilia; the word is Arabic for “raisin.” Used in the production of Passito di Pantelleria. Honey, apricot and marzipan flavors.

 

Italian Varieties – P to S

Sagrantino vineyards near Montefalco (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

 

P

Pecorino

White variety from Abruzzo and Marche. Generally aged in stainless steel, though some vinters barrel age it, achieving a creaminess. Pear and apple aromas.

Piedirosso

Lovely red variety of Campania, literally meaning “red feet,” a descriptor for the birds that sit on the vines when they eat the ripe berries. High acid, light tannins and charming fruit flavors of raspberry, cranberry and black cherry. Primarily used as a blending varietal; in small percentages (less than 15%), it cuts the aggressive tannic bite of Aglianico in the great Campanian red, Taurasi. It is also the primary variety in the medium-bodied Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Rosso.

Pigato

One of Liguria’s most important white varieties with flavors of pineapple and pear with notes of herbs (often rosemary).

Pignolo

Red variety of Friuli with big tannins and deep color and flavors of black fruits. Used only by a few producers and often in blends.

Pinot Bianco

The most widely planted white variety in Alto Adige, this has flavors of apples with a touch of spice. Examples vary from light, crisp and refreshing to more serious bottlings with deep fruit concentration and distinct minerality (such as the top examples from producers such as Cantina Terlano, Cantina Tramin and Alois Lageder.)

Pinot Grigio

Wildy popular white variety grown in several regions of Italy, with the finest bottlings coming from the cool northern regions of Alto Adige and Friuli. Flavors of apple, pear and dried flowers with most examples being quite light and simple. A few producers make single vineyard or special selection bottlings that are more complex. (Known as Pinot Gris in France and other countries.)

Pinot Nero

Known almost everwhere else in the world as Pinot Noir, this is a red variety with moderate tanins, cherry/strawberry fruit and high acidity. A few examples from Piemonte and Tuscany, but the best in Italy are from Alto Adige.

Primitivo

Red variety of Puglia, with deep color, black fruits and plenty of spice. Generally found in southern Pugila and often bottled on its own. DNA related to Zinfandel of California.

Prosecco

White variety from Veneto and Friuli used in the production of the sparkling wine of the same name. Flavors of white peach and lemon, aged in steel tanks.

Prugnolo Gentile

The name for Sangiovese in the town of Montepulciano (used in the wine Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.)

 

R

Refosco

The complete name of this variety is Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso – or “Refosco with a red stalk.” Yields wines of big spice, red fruit and distinctive tannins.

Ribolla Gialla

Charming white variety of Friuli that produces light to medium-bodied wines with high acidity and flavors of pear, lemon, chamomile and dried flowers.

Rondinella

One of the major red varieties of the Valpolicella district with deep color and good fruit (red cherry) intensity and moderate tannins.

Ruché

Rarely seen red variety grown near Asti in Piemonte that makes a lightly spicy, high acid red.

 

S

Sagrantino

Red variety of Umbria, grown only in the Montefalco area. Known for its intense tannins, Sagrantino is even more tannic than Nebbiolo. Cherry fruit and distinct spiciness as well. Sagrantino is made in both a dry and sweet (passito) version.

Ripe Sagrantino Grapes (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

 

Sangiovese

One of Italy’s most famous and widely planted red varieties, this is best known for its use in three famous Tuscan reds: Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino. High acid, garnet color and fresh red cherry fruit along with notes of cedar; today some modernists have tweaked Sangiovese to deepen the color and add spice and vanilla from small oak barrels. Sangiovese is also planted in Umbria, Marche and Emilia Romagna.

Sauvignon

Known as Sauvignon Blanc throughout the rest of the world, this white variety is found most famously in Friuli and Alto Adige, where it produces assertive wines with bracing acidity and flavors of asparagus, pea and freshly mown hay. Also grown along the coasts of Tuscany.

Schiava

Red variety from Friuli that produces lighter reds with cherry, currant fruit, high acidity and light tannins. Also known as Vernatsch.

Schioppetino

Red variety of Friuli with big tannins and spice. Only a few producers work with this grape.

Sciasinoso

Red variety of Campania with lively acidity, dark berry fruit and moderate tannins. Usually a blending variety, but also used to make a lightly sparkling red wine.

Susumaniello

Red variety of Puglia with deep purple color and big tannins. Usually part of a blend, but sometimes bottled on its own. Interestingly, the name of the grape is loosely transalted as “the back of a donkey,” perhaps because of its productivity in the vineyard.

 

 

Italian Varieties – A to C

 

Vineyard in the Taurasi zone planted to Aglianico (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

 

 

No one really knows how many grape varieties are planted throughout Italy today for the production of wine. There are at least 300, but the number could be as high as 1000 – or perhaps even higher. The reason that there is not fixed number is that growers are constantly finding a few rows of an obscure variety that they thought was extinct, yet there it is, mixed in amidst other varieties.

Of course, Italy has so-called international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Chardonnay planted in various regions, but the numbers for these varieties are small compared to the total acreage of indigenous varieties found throughout the country. It’s varieties such as Greco, Fiano and Aglianico in Campania, Sangiovese and Canaiolo in Tuscany and Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo and Arneis in Piemonte that are only a few of the distinct indigenous grapes that define the Italian wine world today.

I’ll cover some of the more important indigenous varieties in the next four posts; this will be A-C, while I’ll cover D-Z over the next few posts. 

A

Aglianico

One of Italy’s greatest red varieties, primarily found in the southern regions of Campania and Basilicata. The most famous red wines made from this variety are Aglianico del Vulture, the best red wine of Basilicata and Taurasi and Aglianico del Taburno, both from Campania. Taurasi is one of the country’s most complex and longest-lived reds.

Popular thought has it that the word “aglianico” is a derivation of the word “hellenico”, an adjective for Greece; thus a reference to the Greek colonists that first planted this variety over 2000 years ago. Other linguists disagree with this reasoning.

Aleatico

Red variety with very good acidity and flavors of cherry, currant and plum used for production of lightly sweet dessert wine in Tuscany and Puglia.

Arneis

White variety grown in Piemonte, most famously in the Roero district, across the Tanaro River from the Langhe. Usually non oak aged, the flavors are of pear and pine. Arneis in local dialect means “rascal” or “crazy.”

 

B

Barbera

Grown in Piemonte, this is a red variety with light tannins and high acidity. Most famous examples are Barbera d’Asti and Barbera d’Alba (see post on Barbera).

 

Barbera vineyards below the town of Castelnuovo Calcea, Asti (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

 

 

Biancolella

A white variety with high acidity grown along the coastal zones of Campania, most famously in the Amalfi Coast and the island of Ischia. Many excellent whites from these areas have Biancolella as part of the blend.

Bombino

There is both a Bombino Bianco and Bombino Nero. These varieties are found in Pugila – generally in the north (Castel del Monte DOC) – and are usually blending varieties. 

Brachetto

A lovely red variety used most often to produce a charming lightly sparkling (frizzante) wine, especially Brachetto d’Acqui from Piemonte. Flavors of strawberry and raspberry. Some producers also make a passito version of Brachetto.

 

 

C

Canaiolo

A traditional blending variety used in the Chianti zone. Light tannins with cherry fruit flavors. Many producers today in Chianti have gotten away from this variety in favor of better-known (and deeper-colored) international varieties.

Cannonau

Grown in Sardegna, this is known as Grenache in France. Produces light, earthy red wines with berry fruit and moderate tannins.

Carignano

Also grown in Sardegna, this is known as Carignane in France (it is also grown in Spain). Deeply colored with raspberry and black cherry fruit, good acidity and rich, but not heavy tannins.

Carricante

A white variety, found in the Etna district of Sicily. A few producers work with this variety and produce a long-lasting white with rich fruit (pear, lemon) and very good acidity. The name is translated as “constant.”

Cataratto

A white variety from Sicily, this produces simple, clean citrusy and apple-tinged dry whites meant for consumption in their youth.

Chiavennasca

A synonym for Nebbiolo as used in the Valtellina district.

Ciliegiolo

Literally “cherry,” this is a red variety used in Tuscany, especially in the Maremma. Often used as a blending variety, there are a few examples of 100% Ciliegiolo that are quite full on the palate. Cherry flavors (naturally) and moderate tannins.

Colorino

Another blending variety from Toscana, often used in Chianti. More deeply colored than Canaiolo.

Cortese

The principal grape of Gavi (also known as Cortese di Gavi), a dry white from southeastern Piemonte. Flavors of pear with notes of almond.

Corvina

One of the major red varieties used in the Valpolicella district (and in the production of Amarone). Rich tannins, plenty of spice and cherry fruit. This is the variety that gives the most intensity to a Valpolicella or Amarone.

Corvinone

Another variety used in the Valpolicella district. Similar characteristics to Corvina, but with fewer tannins and more forward fruit.

 

See my companion website: learnitalianwines.com

Interested in reviews of the latest Italian wines? Subscribe to my quarterly newsletter.