Cascarolo bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy. The grape has a long history in the region and was noted in 1606 by Giovanni Battista Croce, vineyard owner and official jeweler to Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, as growing in the hills around Torino and producing wine of high esteem. It was once thought that Cascarolo bianco was the same variety as the Hungarian wine grape Fehér Gohér (also known as Augster Weisser) but DNA profiling in the early 21st century determined that the two grapes are unrelated. Today ampelographers believe that the grape is an offspring of the Swiss wine grape Rèze with DNA evidence suggesting some relationship with another white Piedmontese grape, Erbaluce. [1]
Ampelographers believe that the name Cascarolo is derived from the Italian cascolare, meaning "to fall", which could be a reference to the susceptibility of the variety to the viticultural hazard of coulure which causes unfertilized grape flowers to develop into poorly formed berries that fall off the vine. [1]
Cascarolo bianco is a very old grape variety that has been growing in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy for several centuries. Wines made from the grape were once highly prized with the Cascarolo bianco wines from Torino being mentioned by Giovanni Battista Croce in 1606. [1]
DNA profiling has shown that the grape is likely the offspring of the Swiss wine grape Rèze and an unknown second parent. That other parent maybe the Piedmontese grape Erbaluce which DNA analysis has shown to have some close relationship with Cascarolo bianco but the exact nature of that relationship is not yet known. In his 1887 handbook on ampelography, German ampelographer Hermann Goethe speculated that Cascarolo bianco was the same variety as the Hungarian wine grape Fehér Gohér (also known as Augster Weisser) but today DNA evidence has shown that the two grapes are unrelated. [1]
For many centuries Cascarolo bianco was widely planted throughout Piedmont, particularly around the communes of Chieri and Pinerolo in the province of Turin, Casale Monferrato in the province of Alessandria and Moncalvo in the province of Asti. However today the grape has very limited plantings and is found mostly in field blends from older vineyards found in the foothills of the Alps. [1]
Over the years, Cascarolo bianco has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Cascarala, Cascarecul, Cascarelbo and Cascarolo. [1] [2]
Folle blanche, also known as Picpoule, Gros Plant, and Enrageat blanc, is a wine grape variety from southwest France. It was the traditional grape variety in Cognac and Armagnac production until the 20th century. Folle blanche is an offspring of Gouais blanc, with the other parent so far unidentified.
Furmint is a white Hungarian wine grape variety that is most noted widely grown in the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region where it is used to produce single-varietal dry wines as well as being the principal grape in the better known Tokaji dessert wines. It is also grown in the tiny Hungarian wine region of Somló. Furmint plays a similar role in the Slovakian wine region of Tokaj. It is also grown in Austria where it is known as Mosler. Smaller plantings are found in Slovenia where it is known as Šipon. The grape is also planted in Croatia, where it is known as Moslavac. It is also found in Romania and in former republics of the Soviet Union. Furmint is a late ripening variety. For dry wines the harvest starts usually in September, however sweet wine specific harvest can start in the second half of October or even later, and is often affected by Botrytis.
Grüner Veltliner is a white wine grape variety grown primarily in Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. The leaves of the grape vine are five-lobed with bunches that are long but compact, and deep green grapes that ripen in mid-late October in the Northern Hemisphere.
Mondeuse noire is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Savoy region of eastern France. The grape can also be found in Argentina, Australia, California, Switzerland and Sicily. Plantings of Mondeuse noire was hit hard during the phylloxera epidemic of the mid to late 19th century which nearly wiped out the vine from eastern France. While the grape recovered slightly in the 20th century, French plantations of Mondeuse noire fell sharply in the 1970s, with just over 200 hectares left in France in 2000. In the early 21st century, it seems the variety has increased somewhat in popularity, as it can give good wines if the planting site is chosen carefully.
Arneis is a white Italian wine grape variety originating from Piedmont, Italy. It is most commonly found in the hills of the Roero, northwest of Alba, where it is part of the white Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) wines of Roero. It can also be used to produce DOC wines in Langhe. Arneis is so called because it is regarded as a somewhat difficult variety to grow. It is a crisp and floral varietal, and has been grown for centuries in the region. The white wines made from the Arneis grape tend to be dry and full bodied with notes of pears and apricots.
Bombino bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety planted primarily along Italy's Adriatic coast line, most notably in Apulia. The vine is prone to high yields and often produces neutral flavor wines. The grape is known under many synonyms throughout Italy including Debit and Pagadebit, names which came from the grape's reputation for being a high yielding and reliable crop for vineyard owners to grow that would assure them that on each vintage they could pay off their debts.
Erbaluce or Erbaluce bianca is a white Italian wine grape grown primarily in the Piedmont region around Caluso, in Canavese. In addition to dry table wines, it is used to make sweet wines with deep golden coloring, such as passito. The grape has a long history in the Piedmont region, with the first written record dating to 1606, and most likely originated in the alpine hills of northern Piedmont.
Rèze is a white Swiss wine grape variety that is primarily found around the village of Sierre in the canton of Valais in southwest Switzerland. Here the variety is used to produce vin des glaciers—a sherry-style wine that utilizes a solera system of wine stored in larch wood or oak barrels that are never fully emptied with newer vintages being added to the barrels containing the older vintages.
Nosiola is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Trentino region north of Lake Garda in the Valle dei Laghi. Here it is used in varietal Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) wines and as a blending component in wines such as Sorni Bianco from Trento. It is also used to produce a dessert wine in the Vin Santo style from grapes that have been allowed to dry out prior to fermentation.
Rossola nera is a red Italian wine grape variety that has been growing in the Valtellina region of Lombardy since at least the 17th century. In 2004 DNA profiling determined that the grape has a parent-offspring relationship with the Piedmont wine grape Nebbiolo though which variety is the parent and which is the offspring is not yet clear. However, most ampelographers believe that Nebbiolo is likely the parent variety since written records in Piedmont have noted Nebbiolo being grown since at least the 13th century.
Barbera bianca is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy. Despite being named Barbera bianca, the grape is not a color mutation of the red Piedmontese wine grape Barbera that is the third most widely planted grape variety in Italy. In fact, DNA analysis conducted in the early 21st century shows no genetic relationship at all between the two grape varieties.
Grisa nera is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy where it is used in both winemaking and as a table grape. The grape is most often used as a minor blending component with wines made from Barbera, Neretta Cuneese and Plassa.
Lagarino bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol wine region of northeast Italy. It was once thought that the grape was a white berry color mutation or offspring of South Tyrolean grape Lagrein with a weiss Lagrien grape variety reportedly growing near the commune of Bolzano in 1318 but DNA profiling conducted in the early 21st century has shown that the two grape varieties are distinct with no direct relationship to each other.
Pallagrello bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in Campania. The grape has a long history in the region and was one the varieties planted in 1775 by architect and engineer Luigi Vanvitelli in the fan-shaped Vigna del Ventaglio vineyard created for the royal palace of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies in Caserta. Following the phylloxera epidemic of the mid-19th century and the economic devastation of the World Wars of the early 20th century, plantings of Pallagrello bianco declined greatly and the variety was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered growing in an abandoned Campanian vineyard in the 1990s.
Prié blanc is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown almost exclusively in the Valle d'Aosta DOC of northwest Italy. The Valle d'Aosta varietal wine Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle is made from Prié blanc grapes.
Luglienga is a white Italian wine and table grape variety that is grown across Europe. The grape has a long history of use, dating back to at least the 14th century in Piedmont but is today most seen a table grape that is occasionally used for home winemaking.
Avanà is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy. Historically, the grape has also been grown in the Dauphiné and Savoie wine region of eastern France where it was known as Hibou noir and in the Valais region of Switzerland. The grape is most often used as a blending variety in the Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) zones of Pinerolese, with Barbera, Persan, Freisa and Neretta Cuneese, and Valsusa, with Barbera, Dolcetto, Neretta Cuneese and other local red Piemontese varieties.
Barbera Sarda is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown on the island of Sardinia where it often used to add acidity to blends. Despite the similarities in their names, there is no known close genetic relationship between the Sardinian Barbera and the notable Piedmontese wine grape variety Barbera. Nor does there seem to be any close relationship with other grapes names Barbera, such as Barbera bianca and Barbera del Sannio.
Uvalino is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy. While the name uvalino means "small berries", ampelographers believe that the name may be derived from uvario which in the local Piedmontese dialect was used to denote wine grapes that were primarily minor blending varieties.
Bianchetta Trevigiana is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Veneto wine regions of northeast Italy. Here the grape is rarely used a varietal but, instead, is a permitted blending grape adding acidity to the wines of several Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) zones including the sparkling wine Prosecco and has also been used for vermouth production. The name Trevigiana is derived from the province of Treviso where the grape is believed to have originated from.