Perhaps the best and most understandable way to approach your personal wine education is to become familiar with the grape varieties used in winemaking. When learning how to cook, we first learn about the ingredients that we use. We explore the differences among meats, fish, shellfish, vegetables, grains, herbs, spices and the interplay of all these elements in creating a recipe. With wine, we can learn about the characteristics that grape varieties impart and then explore how various winemaking techniques – the “spice” of the process – affect the finished wines. It’s hard to know exactly how many grape varieties are used for making wine. The 10,000 number is often stated, but there is lots of room for adjustment, with many varieties given different names in different places. In any case, there are a lot of varieties in the world.
I am limiting the scope for this article to Italian grape varieties. That’s a smaller universe but it is not well defined. Estimates vary based on official recognition and synonyms for the same grape, but we can say there are at least 500 grape varieties to consider. When it comes to Italian wine grape varieties, most consumers know only a few. Nebbiolo from Piedmont where it makes Barolo and Barbaresco, and Sangiovese, the grape of Chianti, are the best known. There are, however, hundreds of other grape varieties used by Italian vintners and adventurous winelovers will reap handsome rewards if they seek out these different and enticing wines. Following is a bit of a personal journey in exploring Italian grapes. It is by no means comprehensive, as I have sampled many more grapes than I list here and look forward to discovering many more. Your exploration, should you embark upon it, will certainly be different, but equally rewarding and exciting.
Where to start? Let’s begin in the northern region of Valle d’Aosta. The high altitude vineyards of this alpine area yield grapes like Petit Rouge with bright red fruit and a peppery spice. The rare Fumin grape grown here gives deeper and richer red wines with black fruits and floral components. White wine fans can seek out the floral nose with citrus and peach-like fruits of the Petite Arvine variety.
Even in Piedmont, where Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto are best known, there are unusual grape varieties to discover. White wines from the Erbaluce grape, especially around the commune of Caluso, offer a crisp and bright style. The Nascetta grape is growing in popularity for its medium-weight white wine and the Timorasso grape yields wines with a nutty, honeyed complexity. Piedmont red grapes beyond the most famous include Ruchè, which makes spicy, red-fruited wines from vineyards in the Monferrato Hills. The Freisa grape yields light red wines with citrus peel and strawberry notes and are sometimes made in a fizzy or frizzante style. The Brachetto grape deserves special mention because it makes a sweet, light-in-alcohol (7% or so), floral red wine that pairs especially well with chocolate. It’s worth seeking out—even if only for that purpose.
Moving over to northeast Italy and the Trentino-Alto Adige region, we find a range of interesting and unusual vines. Schiava traditionally makes a pale colored red wine with floral notes and juicy, strawberry-like fruit. Teroldego is a more powerful red grape best grown in the broad Campo Rotaliano where it offers deep color and a floral bouquet with black and red fruits layered on the palate. For unusual white grapes grown here, Kerner is a crossing of the red Schiava and Riesling created in Germany in 1929. In the valley of the Isarco River, it makes a Riesling-like white with floral, pear, apple and citrus fruit character. Nosiola is another interesting white grape that yields bright, crisp and refreshing wines from the region.
The far northeast of Italy is the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia and is a treasure trove of interesting and unusual wine grapes. Emilio Bulfon is a passionate grower here who has rediscovered local ancient varieties and nurtured vineyards of them. A favorite Bulfon white wine is from the Sciaglin grape which offers ripe peach, apple and spice tones with a dry finish. The Piculit Neri is a delicious red from Bulfon with raspberry, cherry, black plum and spice elements. Another interesting Friulian red grape is the Schioppettino which combines black and red fruits with notes of fresh herbs and black-pepper spice.
Hopping over to the Liguria region on Italy’s west coast, we have white grapes like the Pigato, which makes a luscious dry wine with peach, herb and tropical fruit nuances. A red grape of note here is the Rossese which makes a juicy red-fruity and spicy wine especially in the Dolceaqua area. If we move to central Italy’s Umbria region, we can find characterful white wines of the Grechetto grape. When well-made, these can offer layers of ripe apple, pear, citrus and floral elements with hints of herbs and nuts. The Sagrantino grape from Umbria’s Montefalco yields red wines among the most powerful in all the world with rich blackcurrant, blackberry, earthy and spice aspects and impressive tannins.
The “heel” of Italy’s “boot” is the region of Puglia. This is a vast vineyard area with many relatively unknown appellations and interesting grape varieties. The Verdeca is a grape that is named for its green hue on the vine. It yields a crisp and refreshing white wine with relatively high acidity plus floral aromas and zesty lemon fruit. The Susumaniello is a red grape not often found outside of Puglia that offers a rustic wine with a deep color plus blackberry and blackcurrant fruits underscored by a tart cherry element and hints of wild herbs. Also from Puglia but very different in style is the Uva di Troia grape. Sometimes known as the Nero di Troia, it is lighter in color and has delicate floral perfume along with tart raspberry and red cherry fruit elements. It’s often used to make rosé wines or as part of a blend to add elegance to the more powerful Apulian red grapes.
That’s a quick overview of just a few of Italy’s unusual wine grapes. We only touched on seven of Italy’s twenty regions. Interested winelovers can focus on any region and find delicious wines made from hitherto unknown grape varieties. It can be a challenge to find them, but a determined search can reveal fun tasting opportunities and reap great gustatory rewards.