Today's variety is another one that people will have trouble seeing as indigenous to Italy and I agree but I'm trying to be complete in my series on grape varieties. Apparently while hailing from France, Napoleon brought it to Italy to the area near Piacenza. At the time , it was called Champagne mostly because... Continue Reading →
Italian Indigenous Varieties: Malvasia Rosa from Piacenza
This is my 16th and last post in the series on Malvasie. It has been very interesting to see just how many variations there are of this grape from the Malvasia family. This week's variety is Malvasia Rosa which is a mutation of Malvasia di Candia which I wrote about here. This Malvasia can be... Continue Reading →
Italian Indigenous Varieties: Malvasia di Candia Aromatica Bianca (Emilia)
This Malvasia di Candia Aromatica Bianca hails mainly from Emilia Romagna and can be found in the DOCs Colli Piacentini, Colli di Scandiano e Canossa, Monterosso Val d'Arda, Trebbiano Val Trebbia. It also grows in Lazio and can be used in the DOCs Cerveteri, Circeo, Cori, Genazzano, Montecoprati Colonna and my favorite, Zagarolo. A I... Continue Reading →
Italian Indigenous Varieties: Malvasia Bianca di Candia (Lazio)
This week's variety is another Malvasia. It is called Malvasia Bianca di Candia. It's grows primarily in Lazio but also in Emilia Romagna, Le Marche, Umbria, Tuscany and Liguria. It is also sometimes called Malvasia Rossa because of the color the buds take on. However it must be distinguished from Malvasia di Candia. It likes... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
Italian Indigenous Varieties: Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce
This is the last of the Lambrusco varieties I am going to write about in this indigenous varieties series, Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce. There are over 60 varieties of Lambrusco that are known, perhaps even more, but only six or seven of them are considered the more prestigious ones. Salamino, is named for its... Continue Reading →
Italian Indigenous Varieties: Lambrusco Marani
I have been writing about different clones of Lambrusco all fall. There are many of them in fact, about 60. Among the main ones though, is this week's variety, Lambrusco Marani. Like many of the others, it produces wines that are ruby red in color with a fruity, vinous aromas and flavors, good acidity and... Continue Reading →
Indigenous Italian Varieties: Lambrusco Maestri
This particular variety of Lambrusco hails from the area around Parma, a city I adore. Parma is a beautiful, elegant and I dare say feminine city. I loved the Duomo and the baptistry there done by Antelami. The province of Parma runs from the Po River to the Appennines, separating it from both Lombardy and... Continue Reading →
Italian Indigenous Varieties: Lambrusco Grasparossa del Castelvetro
This week's indigenous variety is Lambrusco Grasparossa. It hails from the areas around Modena and Reggio Emilia in the province of Emilia Romagna. It is considered to be a tad less refined than last week's variety - Lambrusco di Sorbara. It makes wines in the frizzante and amabile styles which people usually drink young and... Continue Reading →
Italian Indigenous Varieties:Lambrusco di Sorbara
I like to use this photo that I took of the pavilion at Vinitaly for Emilia Romagna because it say it is "un mondo fantastico." This is the way I feel about Emilia, a region I love and lived in when I went to graduate school in Bologna. This week's variety is Lambrusco di Sorbara.... Continue Reading →