Italian Indigenous Varieties: Malbo Gentile (Emilia Romagna)

This week’s indigenous variety is Malbo Gentile, a red grape that is grown in Emilia Romagna. I couldn’t find a lot about the variety except that it grows well in poor soils and can be used both as a monovarietal and in blends. I also discovered a blog by the same name, Malbo Gentile, which seems to be about wine and all things Emilia Romagna. It is also used in many Lambrusco wines. This grape is also used to make vini novelli, vini frizzanti and passito wines such as this one, Colli di Scandiano e Canossa DOP.

Malbec, also grows in Italy, largely in the Central-Northern regions.