Rossese bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown around the communes of Roddino and Sinio in the Langhe region of the province of Cuneo in Piedmont. While sharing the name Rossese with several Italian varieties (including Rossese di Dolceacqua, Grillo and Ruzzese), DNA profiling has shown that all these varieties have unique genetic profiles and appear to have no close relationship to each other. [1]
Ampelographers believe that the name Rossese came from a description of the intense color of the Rossese berries with the many varieties that are known as Rossese having skin colors that range from deep red to pink to dark gold after veraison. [1]
In 1596, Andrea Bacci of Sant'Elpidio a Mare, a winemaker who also served as a physician to Felice Peretti di Montalto before his elevation to Pope Sixtus V noted that a grape known as Rossese bianco or Roxeise had been producing wine of high quality and reputation since the 15th century. However, it is impossible to know if this grape is the Rossese bianco grape of Roddino and Sinio or one of the many other Italian wine grapes that have been known as Rossese. [1]
According to Master of Wine Jancis Robinson, the rare varietal examples of Rossese bianco tend to be light bodied with fresh flavors. It is a currently a permitted variety in the Denominazione di origine controllata wines of Langhe. [1]
While many grape varieties share the name Rossese, as of 2013 there were no known synonyms for the Rossese bianco grown in Roddino and Sinio. [1] [2]
Dolcetto is a black Italian wine grape variety widely grown in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The Italian word dolcetto means "little sweet one", but it is not certain that the name originally carried any reference to the grape’s sugar levels: it is possible that it derives from the name of the hills where the vine is cultivated. In any case the wines produced are nearly always dry. They can be tannic and fruity with moderate, or decidedly low, levels of acidity and are typically meant to be consumed within a few years after release.
Grillo, also known as Riddu and Rossese bianco, is a white Italian wine grape variety that withstands high temperatures and is widely used in Sicilian winemaking and, in particular, for making Marsala. Its origins are uncertain, but it may have been introduced into the island of Sicily from Apulia. It was already widely planted in the Province of Trapani by 1897; today it may be grown throughout Sicily and also in the Aeolian Islands.
Vermentino is a light-skinned wine grape variety, primarily found in Italian wine. It is widely planted in both in Sardinia and Liguria, to some extent in Corsica, in Piedmont under the name Favorita, and in increasing amounts in Languedoc-Roussillon. The leaves are dark green and pentagonal. The grapes are amber-yellow and hang in pyramidal bunches. The vines are often grown on slopes facing the sea where they can benefit from the additional reflected light. The Vitis International Variety Catalogue now gives Italy as its origin.
Tibouren or Rossese di Dolceacqua is a red French wine grape variety that is primarily grown in Provence and Liguria but originated in Greece and possibly even the Middle East. Intensely aromatic, with an earthy bouquet that wine expert Jancis Robinson describes as garrigue, Tibouren is often used in the production of rosés.
Piemonte wine is the range of Italian wines made in the region of Piedmont in the northwestern corner of Italy. The best-known wines from the region include Barolo and Barbaresco. They are made from the Nebbiolo grape. These wines are ideal for storage and a well-aged Barolo for instance may leave a feeling of drinking velvet because the tannins are polished and integrated more and more into the wine. As the wine matures the colour becomes more brownish and rust-red.
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.
Drupeggio is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Central Italy wine regions of Tuscany and Orvieto. The grape is often confused for the white Tuscan variety Vernaccia di San Gimignano, which is also known under the synonym Canaiolo bianco and may be counted as one and the same in field blends.
Incrocio Manzoni or Manzoni grapes is a family of grape varieties named after Professor Luigi Manzoni (1888-1968) of Italy's oldest school of oenology located in Conegliano, in the Veneto region. Manzoni created the new grape varieties by selecting, crossing and grafting vines from various vineyards during the 1920s and 1930s. The family includes both white and red grape varieties. Although most Manzonis are grown in northeastern Italy, they are mainly grown in the Piave area of Province of Treviso and are only now starting to be sold commercially in Europe and the United States.
Coda di Volpe is a white Italian wine grape variety that has been historically grown in the Campania region around the town of Naples. It is often confused with another white Italian wine grape, Emilia, that share many of the same synonyms as Coda di Volpe.
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.
Mantonico bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Ampelographers believe that the grape is likely of Greek origins and was transported to southern Italy by ancient Greek settlers. Though the variety has a long history in Calabria, its numbers have been slowly declining with 1100 hectares/2700 acres planted in the region by the end of the 20th century.
Albanello bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety grown primarily in Sicily where it has a long tradition producing sweet dessert-style wines from grapes that have been dried in the sun on mats for several days after harvest. In the eighteenth century, the grape was an important component in the rare and expensive Marsala-style wine Ambrato di Comiso.
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.
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.
Mantonico bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety grown in the Calabria wine region of southern Italy. The grape should not be confused with the similarly named Calabrian grape Montonico bianco or with Guardavalle, which is known as Mantonico in the province of Cosenza in Calabria. In the early 21st century, DNA profiling suggested that Mantonico bianco may be one of the parent varieties of the red Calabrian grape Gaglioppo which is also known as Mantonico nero.
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.
Pallagrello nero is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in Campania. The grape has a long history in the region and, like the similarly named Pallagrello bianco, 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 nero declined greatly and the variety was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered growing in an abandoned Campanian vineyard in the 1990s.
Rovello bianco or Greco Muscio is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Campania region of southern Italy. While the grape has been described in wine literature since 1875, the variety was on the verge of extinction until a collaboration by the University of Naples Federico II and University of Palermo along with a local wine grower in Taurasi help revive the variety with new plantings in 2003.
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.