Brugnola is a red

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 for ...

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 V ...

that is grown in the Lombardy wine region of

Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Tod ...

. While historically, Brugnola was thought to be a local synonym for

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

wine grape Fortana,

DNA analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

has shown that the two grapes are distinct variety and that, instead, Brugnola shares a close genetic relationship with the Piedmont wine grape

Nebbiolo Nebbiolo (, ; pms, nebieul ) is an Italian red wine grape variety predominantly associated with its native Piedmont region, where it makes the '' Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) wines of Barolo, Barbaresco, Roer ...

.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 138 & 363 Allen Lane 2012 Today, Brugnola is a permitted grape variety in the ''

Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”), * ''Indicazione geografica ti ...

'' (DOCG) of Valtellina Superiore with the grape most often seen from the Valtellina subzone of Grumello.

History

Brugnola was long thought to be a local synonym used in the Valtellina region for the red Emilia-Romagna grape, Fortana. Even as recently as the 2000 census, plantings of Brugnola in Lombardy were officially counted as part of Fortana's planted throughout Italy. In the early 21st century, DNA analysis revealed that Brugnola and Fortana were distinct varieties but that Brugnola shared a close parent-offspring relationship with the Piemontese wine grape Nebbiolo, known locally as Chiavennasca.

Relationship to other grapes

Through its parent-offspring relationship with Nebbiolo, Brugnola is a half-sibling of several Piemontese wine grape varieties including: Bubbierasco,

Vespolina Vespolina is a red Italian wine grape variety that is planted in Piedmont around Gattinara and Ghemme. Ampelographer believe that the grape is most likely indigenous to this area of Piedmont and recent DNA profiling identified a parent-offspr ...

Freisa Freisa is a red Italian wine grape variety grown in the Piedmont region of north-west Italy, primarily in Monferrato and in the Langhe, but also further north in the provinces of Turin and Biella. Freisa is a vigorous and productive vine whose r ...

Nebbiolo rosé Nebbiolo (, ; pms, nebieul ) is an Italian red wine grape variety predominantly associated with its native Piedmont region, where it makes the ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) wines of Barolo, Barbaresco, Roero, ...

Negretta Nielluccio is a red wine grape variety that is widely planted on Corsica. It is the principal grape variety used in the production of the '' Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' AOC red wine Patrimonio, where it must by law make up 95% of the blen ...

Neretto di Bairo Croatina is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Oltrepò Pavese region of Lombardy and in the Province of Piacenza within Emilia Romagna, but also in parts of Piedmont and the Veneto. In the Oltrepò Pavese, in the hi ...

and

Rossola nera 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 ...

.Ian D'Agata ''Native Wine Grapes of Italy'', pg 476 University of California Press 2014

Viticulture

In Lombardy, Brugnola is noted for producing reliable yields and its strong resistance to the

viticultural hazard This is a list of diseases of grapes (''Vitis'' spp.). Bacterial diseases Fungal diseases Miscellaneous diseases and disorders Nematodes, parasitic Phytoplasma, virus and viruslike diseases See also *'' Ampeloglypter ater'' *'' A ...

s of downy mildew and botrytis bunch rot. However, the vine is very prone to damage caused by the onset of

powdery mildew Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant diseases to identify, as ...

late in the growing season.

Wine regions

While Brugnola was still officially considered only a synonym of Fortana in the 2000 Italian census, nearly all of the plantings of Brugnola in the Valtellina region are believed to be actual Brugnola plantings. The grape is a permitted blending variety in several of the red wines of Valtellina, most notably the DOCG wines of Valtellina Superiore-Grumello. Here is it blended with both Nebbiolo (Chiavennasca) as well as

Synonyms

The

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 Ge ...

(VIVC) still officially recognizes Brugnola only as a synonym for Fortana

(VIVC)
Fortana
'' Accessed: February 18th, 2014 and for Lambruscone.

(VIVC)
Lambruscone
'' Accessed: February 18th, 2014

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties