GRAPE VARIETIES 
FOUND IN ITALY

PictureItalian Wine Regions by David Flaherty www.grapesandgrainsnyc.com
Italy is the home to a great many wine grapes, being one of the most diverse in wine varieties and wine regions. The amount of grape varieties grown in Italy may reach the thousands, along with hundreds of DOG's. 

Italy's soil and practices endows unto these grape varieties a little bit of culture, often infusing aromas and flavours reminiscent of italian herbs such as thyme, oregano and basil, fruits such as cherries and tomatoes and a sweet and sour aspect with bone dry and neutral characters. 

Below are some of ITaly's most prominant grape varieties, used as essential elements in blends or on their own as well known varietal wines. 

ITALIAN RED WINE GRAPE VARIETIES

Aglianico

Brought to Italy from Greece during the 6th century, this grape variety is responsible for wine styles varying from rose, to young and fruit driven wines to those capable of richness and structure over time. Wines made from this grape variety are most likely fuller of body, softer of tannins and higher in acidity. The flavours carried will take the characteristics of black cherries, blackberries, violets and wild strawberries with the possibility of red licorice, bitter chocolate and black pepper notes.

Barbera

Barbera can make some very juicy wines with its character medium to high acidity and medium to low tannins with dark hue. Found throughout Italy, it is native to the Piedmont region. it is usually produced as a varietal wine from this region but can be seen in blends throughout other regions. This is a variety that can create simple fruity wines with subtle scents of plum and a palate capable of lush and velvety fruitiness with warm spice.

Varietal and Blend

Corvina

Corvina is a grape variety usually found in a variety of blends, from zesty roses, to medium bodied and rich reds. It serves as a key member in Amarone, Valpolicella, Bardolino and Recioto Classico. Corvina grapes give to their wine blends a fresh and delicately bitter cherry character. 

Blend

Montepulciano

This is a grape variety used throughout the Marche and Abruzzi regions, as well as in Molise and Puglia. This grape variety gives its wines deep colour, a cherry scent and a familiar baking spice that touches on nutmeg and cinnamon along with lightly roasted almonds. In taste, this grape variety contributes softer tannins and a taste hinting on plums, blackberries, raspberries, cherries and wild strawberries. 

Nebbiolo

An important contributing grape in the Piemont region's Barolo and Barbaresco, Gattinara an Ghemme wines as well as Valtellina region's Sforzato, and Spanna wines. Nebbiolo grapes contribute a garnet to orange hue to its wines as well as freshness to the aromas and cherries, plums, strawberries and raspberries to the flavour. There is also the possible contribution of dark chocolate, dried herb, almond and hazelnut tones. With age, Nebbiolo can exhibit in its wines, liquorice, vanilla and cinnamon tones as well as dried violets, tar and silkiness to the texture. When the Nebbiolo-based wines come from Alpine zones of Italy, they tend to carry a suppler fresh and elegant perfume aroma of violets, alpine flowers, with a palate of blueberries, mint, and  black pepper.

Blend

Dolcetto

Originating from the Piedmont region of Italy, this variety of grape is often viewed as a less desirable, lower quality Nebbiolo or Barbera. This is due to the classically unique characteristics of Dolcetto grapes containing high tannins with low acidity. This high tannin and low acidity combination does not work in favour of immediate consumption due to the high intensity of the tannins. The tannins are concentrated enough to allow a preserved ageing until the tannins mellow but the acidity is far too low to keep up, often resulting in a flat deteriorated wine when aged. 

Increasingly, with this grape variety being is easy to grow and early to ripen, produces are opting to grow it in cooler higher elevations to prevent full ripening allowing a retention of higher amounts of acidity. New world combination of slightly unripe and higher acidity grapes with short, gentle fermentation, avoiding over-extraction of tannins, allows for a greater balance. The downside to this is a loss in aromatic intensity. These new processes and growing attempts allow for an increasingly popular style of Dolcetto, moving towards a rich and oaky, highly alcoholic character with intense colour and dark spicy aromas coupled with earthy undertones of almonds or walnuts. 

Gaglioppo

Thriving in Calabria, Gaglioppo is the most widely grown grape variety in the region.  Gaglioppo is a prime component in every one of Calabria’s red DOC wines. special temperature fluctuations in zones of this region allow the Gaglioppo grapes to ripen more slowly which will endow them with a fuller development of aromas and flavours. Wines comprised of Gaglioppo grapes are light in tannins, medium to high in alcohol and carry aromas of tar, red liquorice and rose hips which all carry on to the palate. These sensations are carried through on to the palate with the addition of mineral notes and strawberry hints. 

Nero D'Avola/Calabrese

Known to make gifted wines, and considered one of the finest grape varieties in Sicily, a wines made from Nero D'Avalone has a consistency and distinctness to its flavours and aromas with depth and complexity from the start. Nero d'Avalone provides refreshingly fragrant aromas with hints of blueberries, strawberries and blackberries. Its provides soft and supple tannins and has the ability to create a variety of wine styles to the winemakers purpose and choosing.  It may be used on its own or in blends.

Primitivo

A grape variety thought to be derived from the same variety as Zinfandel, Primitivo is a popular Southern Puglia grape variety. Primitivo wines tend to have juicy and jammy raspberry, plum and blackberry fruits along with European grown hints of violets, barnyard hay, tobacco and spices.

Sangiovese

Important and popular grape variety of Italy, used in the making of varietal wines and blends such as the popular Chianti. Popular and long-time use of this grape variety has led to a great many clonal types of this grape, resulting in dramatic character variations throughout regions and vinyards. Some have divided these clonal differences into two groups, Sangiovese Grosso and Sangiovese Piccolo. Grosso yields a smaller amount of grapes with smaller size and thicker skin, creating darker colour, higher tannins and longer ageing capacity in its wines. Wines made from Grosso grapes also tend to be richer and fuller with raspberry, fig, and mulberry fruits and aromatic and flavour hints of earthy quality nearing leather, tobacco, vanilla, cinnamon and truffle. Piccolo wines have a riper cherry fruit flavour, with a cherry stone bitterness on the finish. The best known Sangiovese-based blends are Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and Morellino di Scansano.

Freisa (FREH-EE-za)

A black-skinned grape native to the Piedmont region of Italy. This grape variety is use to make light red wines, especially those of sweet variety and the dry semi-sparkling variety. Freisa wines tend to carry with them high tannins, bitter finish and higher residual sugar content. Freisa wines, in classic style, holds high and rich tannins with earthy tones and raspberry and strawberry fruit flavour and aroma along with tart and astringent after-tastes. An alternate style is the light and fizzy strawberry sparkling wine that this varietal is capable of. This varietal comprises the varietal sparkling wine Freisa d'Asti, as well as the larger component of Freisa di Chieri and a minor component of the Gabiano blend. 

Lambrusco

A light red grape variety used to create sparkling dry wines from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy as well as less predominantly so in Piedmont, Basilicata and other wine regions. This grape variety is capable of creating sparkling wine with ruby hue containing a fruity aroma, pleasing acidity and good levels of alcohol. 

Molinara

The Molinara is a red grape variety which can mainly be found in the Veneto region of Italy. This is a grape variety light in colour, therefore giving low colour extract to a wine containing this grape. It is also very susceptible to oxidization and very high in acidity. For these reasons it is mostly used as part of a blend rather than as a varietal. It contributes acidity to balance out richness in a blend. It also contributes bright red fruit flavours and floral notes. Molinara is used in various Veneto blends, Bardolino, Valpolicella, Merlot-Molinara based roses and as a part of Amarone.

Negroamaro

Among the most planted red grape varieties in Italy, especially the Puglia region, Negroamaro means “Black bitter." It is an intensely black grape, producing deeply-colored wines which contain medium to strong tannins and light aromas. It contains character of dark berries, clove, cinnamon and allspice spices and can contain earthen flavours and even those of a medicinal quality. It is the base for many blends produced in the Salentine peninsula of the Puglia region. 

ITALIAN WHITE WINE GRAPE VARIETIES

Albana

This grape variety, well endowed with sugar, high of acidity and high of tannins, makes wines perfect for ageing. The wines made from this grape variety are usually dry wine with subtle aroma and flavour or fruity peach, floral rose and fragrant sage and almonds. Semi-dried styles are also available and have been compared to the balanced quality of Sauternes. 

Fiano

This grape variety is ancient to, and widely used, in the southern of Italy throughout Avellino and Compania wine regions. It is used to create both varietal and blend wines, where it contributes strong foral, honey and spicy flavours, waxy texture, roundness and weight to a wine. 

Garganega

A grape variety best found in pockets of Italy, especially in Vento province, this is a blend grape used in Wines such as Soave and Gambellara. This variety, grown in cooler climates, produces white wines with good acidity as well as flint and apple character. Warmer climates create more subtle pear, pineapple and apricot flavours. When created in an appassimento style, Garganega grapes can yield richly textured wines with honey, tropical fruits and exotic spices over citrus flavours.

Malvasia Bianco

A member of an ancient family of grapes derived from Greece, Malvasia Bianco is among the most cultivated grapes in Italy. It can create wines of varying styles including dry, off-dry and sparkling. Its low acidity and easy oxidization gives to its wines body weight and texture. It can be found in white Rioja and Trebbiano-Malvasia blends. When in dry style, Malvasia lacks flavour contribution but can contribute ripe pear and honey when in sweeter form. 

Greco Di Tufo

A grape variety popular and considered prestigious in the Campania region of the south of Italy, Greco di Tufo is a clone of Greco Bianco. Grown in cooler altitudes to allow full ripening while maintaining acidity without drying out, Greco di Tufo is described to contribute refreshing crispness and lemon, pear, almond and mineral characteristics to the wines they create. 

Grillo

originating in Western Sicily, this grape variety is a main contributor to the Marsala fortified wine of Sicily. In more recent times the grape variety has been used in still varietal and blend wines. Grillo can create wines high in alcohol with lemon citrus flavours.

Moscato (Muscat) Bianco

One of the oldest grape families in the world, Muscato grape varieties are known for their fragrant grape character. Moscato Bianco is the oldest of the Muscato family and a major component in a variety of still, semi-sparkling, fully sparkling, fortified and passito wines. It contains low acidity and does not have great capacity for aging but is known for its grapey attribute.

Pinot Grigio

It is the same grape variety as Pinot Gris, but when grown in Italy produces a vastly different style of wine, crisper, dry and lighter in character. Pinot Grigio from Italy carries with it high acidity, lemon, green apple and blossom characters.

Pinot Bianco

Pinot Blanc is referred to as Pinot Bianco in Italy. When grown in Italy, Pinot Bianco can produce wines with dry crispness and light body, contrary to its French counterpart. Oaking is not common practice in Italian Pinot Bianco wines and Pinot Bianco is used as a blend more than a varietal wine in Italy. 

Prosecco

This is a well known grape variety used to create sparkling wines of the same name. The origin of this grape variety lies somewhere around the boarder between north east Italy and Slovenia. Prosecco sparkling wines can vary from brut, to dry or extra dry. Prosecco wines carry green apple and lightly floral perfumes.

Trebbiano

known as the grape variety ugni blanc in France, Trebbiano is another large white grape family in well produced in Italy. Though one of the most produced grape varieties in the world, it tends to be relatively unknown due to its production usually being funnelled into Brandy production and blends. It creates light, pale white wines, crisp in acidity and containing citrus and floral notes with mineral aspects.

Verdicchio

This is a grape variety with origins in the Marche region of Italy, known for creating varietal wines of the same name. The yellow-green grapes create similar colours in their wines with elegant and subtle aromas of lemon and almond nature. This variety is also well used to create sparkling wines and is used with Trebbiano and Malvasia for blends. 




























Reference:
Cellar Tours @ cellartours.com
Patricia Guy @ patriciaguy.com
Wine Country Italy @ winecountry.it
Better Tasting Wine @ bettertastingwine.com/italy
Wine Searcher @ wine-searcher.com
Wine Making Talk @ winemakingtalk.com