Biancone di Portoferraio is a white

Italian wine Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, and contributing a 2013–2017 annual average of 48.3 million hl of wine. In 2018 Italy accounted fo ...

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

that is grown almost exclusively on the island of

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...

off the coast of

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

. Some ampelographers have speculated that the grape may have originated on the French island of Corsica where the grape shares a close genetic relationship with the Corsican wine grape Biancu Gentile (also known as just Biancone).J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pg 105 Allen Lane 2012

History

While Biancone di Portoferraio is today found almost exclusively on the Italian island of Elba, ampelographers suspect that the grape may have French origins with DNA analysis in the early 21st century revealing that the grape has a potential parent-offspring relationship with the Corsican wine grape Biancu Gentile (Biancone). Further analysis revealed the red Tuscan wine grape

Mammolo Mammolo is a red Italian wine grape that is planted primarily in Tuscany. While its use has been diminishing, Mammolo was historically included in the blended Sangiovese-based wines of Chianti where it contributed a distinctive violet or ''mammo ...

as another potential parent and listed the Italian grape varieties of

Caloria ''Caloria'' is a genus of colorful sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs. They are marine gastropod molluscs in the family Facelinidae.MolluscaBase (2018)''Caloria'' Trinchese, 1888.Accessed on 2018-02-17 Species Species within the genus include: * '' ...

Colombana nera Colombana nera is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany. Despite similarities in name, the grape did not get its name from nor is it grown in the San Colombano al Lambro region of Lombardy nor is it permit ...

and

Pollera nera Pollera nera is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Liguria wine region and northwest Tuscany. Ampelographers believe that the vine has a very long winemaking history but it is rarely seen today.J. Robinson ''Jancis Ro ...

as potential half-siblings.

Viticulture and confusion with other grapes

Biancone di Portoferraio is a late ripening grape variety that is often one of the last grapes in Tuscany to be harvested during the growing season. Due to similarities in appearance and synonyms, the grape is often confused with the Corsican grape Biancu Gentile (which may be a parent variety) and the

Ligurian wine Liguria is an Italian wine region located in the northwest region of Italy along the Italian Riviera. It is bordered by the Piedmont wine region to the north, the Alps and French wine region of Provence to the west, the Apennine Mountains and the ...

grape

Rollo Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...

Wine regions

While some plantings of Biancone di Portoferraio may have previously existed on Corsica, where the grape was known as Biancone and Uva bianca, today the grape is found almost exclusively on the island of Elba located in the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

between Corsica and the Tuscan coast.

Styles

According to

Master of Wine Master of Wine (MW) is a qualification (not an academic degree) issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom. The MW qualification is generally regarded in the wine industry as one of the highest standards of professional knowle ...

Jancis Robinson, Biancone di Portoferraio tends to produce simple, easy drinking wines that are usually just classified as "

table wine Table wine (rarely abbreviated TW) is a wine term with two different meanings: a style of wine and a quality level within wine classification. In the United States, the term primarily designates a wine style: an ordinary wine which is not fortifi ...

s".

Synonyms

Over the years, Biancone di Portoferraio has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Biancona, Biancone (in Corsica), Biancone blanc, Corcesco, Folle Verte d'Oleron, Pagadebiti di Porto S. Stefano, Pagadebiti di Porto San Stefano and Uva bianca.

Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung Gei ...

(VIVC)
Biancone di Portoferraio
'' Accessed: April 24th, 2014

References

{{reflist White wine grape varieties