Magliocco Dolce (also known as Marsigliana ) 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 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 mostly in the Calabria region of southern Italy. In agricultural census counts, plantings of Magliocco Dolce are often grouped with the related, but distinct, red grape variety

Magliocco Canino Magliocco Canino is a red Italian wine grape variety that is predominantly grown in the Calabria (wine), Calabria region of southern Italy. It is often used as a blending grape, often with Gaglioppo of which the varieties are often confused. In t ...

. Throughout history, numerous red southern Italian wine grape varieties have been variously known under the synonyms of "Magliocco" or "Magliocchi", most notably

Gaglioppo Gaglioppo is a red wine grape that is grown in southern Italy, primarily around Calabria. The vine performs well in drought conditions but is susceptible to Uncinula necator, oidium and peronospora. The grape produces wine that is full-bodied, ...

, but recent DNA analysis has shown those grapes to be unrelated to Magliocco Dolce or Magliocco Canino.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 564-565 Allen Lane 2012

History

The first mention of a "Magliocca" grape dates to the late 15th century when it was documented growing in the Calabria region. However, which "Magliocco" grape this was is not yet known. Ampelographers have speculated that since the name ''Magliocco'' means "tender knot" in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

that potentially Magliocco Dolce (or Magliocco Canino) could have originated in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. Additionally, Magliocco Dolce has been known under the synonym of ''Greco nero'' around the village of

Lamezia Terme Lamezia Terme (), commonly called Lamezia, is an Italian city and ''comune'' of 70,452 inhabitants (2013), in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region. Geography Lamezia is located on the eastern border of the coastal plain commonly cal ...

. However, DNA evidence in the early 21st century has cast doubt on the validity of that theory with it being far more likely that both grapes originated in southern Italy. The early synonym ''Arvino'' suggest that potentially Magliocco Dolce originated near

Lago Arvo Lago Arvo is a lake in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, southern Italy. It is located in La Sila east of Aprigliano and west of San Giovanni in Fiore. The lake is south of Lago di Ariamacina and Botte Donato and northwest of Ampollino Lake, Lago ...

on the

La Sila La Sila, also simply Sila, is the name of the mountainous plateau and historic region located in Calabria, southern Italy. The Sila National Park is known to have the purest air in Europe. Geography The Sila occupies part of the provinces of Co ...

plateau that straddles the borders of the provinces of

Catanzaro Catanzaro (, or ; scn, label= Catanzarese, Catanzaru ; , or , ''Katastaríoi Lokrói''; ; la, Catacium), also known as the "City of the two Seas", is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its p ...

, Cosenza and Crotone in Calabria.

Viticulture and confusion with other grapes

Magliocco Dolce is a late ripening grape variety that tends to produce wines with high

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'' ...

levels due to the thick skins of its berries. Like

Sangiovese Sangiovese (, also , , ) is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin ''sanguis Jovis'', "the blood of Jupiter". Though it is the grape of most of central Italy from Romagna down to Lazio (the most widespread grape ...

and

Savagnin Savagnin or Savagnin blanc (not to be confused with Sauvignon blanc) is a variety of white wine grape with green-skinned berries. It is mostly grown in the Jura region of France, where it is made into Savagnin wine or the famous vin jaune and vi ...

, the grape variety is very prone to

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA replication, DNA or viral repl ...

with several clonal varieties of the grape found throughout Calabria. Over the years, Magliocco Dolce has been confused with several other red Italian grape varieties including Gaglioppo, Magliocco Canino, Castiglione (particularly around

Locride Locride is an area of Calabria, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coin ...

Nerello Mascalese Nerello is a name given to two varieties of red wine grapes that are grown primarily in Sicily and Sardinia.J. Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' pg 213 Mitchell Beazley 1986 *''Nerello Mascalese'', which is named after the Mascali area in Catan ...

(in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

) and Nocera. In fact, the vineyard samples of Nocera planted at the University of California-Davis were identified in the early 21st century as actually being Magliocco Dolce.

Wine regions

Today Magliocco Dolce is found almost exclusively in Calabria though the exact number of plantings of the grape variety is hard to determine because for many years the grape was often confused and inter-planted in

field blends Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

with other varieties. Even in the official 2000 census, plantings of Magliocco Canino and Magliocco Dolce were counted together though ampelographers believe that most of the Calabrian plantings in the provinces of Catanzaro, Cosenza and Crotone of the reported are Magliocco Dolce.

Synonyms

Over the years, Magliocco Dolce has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Arvino (in the provinces of Cosenza and Crotone), Catanzarese, Gaddrica (around the village of

Longobardi Longobardi may refer to: * Lombards, a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774 * Longobardi, Calabria, a ''comune'' in the Province of Cosenza, Italy * Longobardi (surname), Italian surname See also

* Longoba ...

), Greco nero (around the village of Lamezia Terme), Guarnaccia (around the village of Verbicaro), Lacrima Cristi (in the provinces of Cozenza and Reggio Calabria), Magliocco Tondo, Maglioccuni (around the village of

Bivongi Bivongi ( Calabrian: or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria in the Stilaro Valley, at the feet of the M ...

), Mangiaguerra (around the village of

Ricadi Ricadi ( grc, Ρηγάδιον, translit=Rigádion) is a small rural town, as well as a municipality, located along the Tyrrhenian coast, in the province of Vibo Valentia, in the Italian region of Calabria. Geography Boundaries The municipalit ...

near

Capo Vaticano Capo Vaticano is a wide bathing place in the Municipality of Ricadi in Calabria, Italy. The 'Cape' is formed by a particular white-gray granite, which is examined worldwide for its geologic characteristics. Geography The maximum altitude of the c ...

), Marcigliana, Marsigliana (around the village Lamezia Terme), Merigallo (around the village of

Terravecchia Terravecchia is a village and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Geography The village is bordered by Cariati Cariati () is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region ...

), Nera di Scilla (around the village of

Scalea Scalea ( Calabrian: , lit. "stair" or "ladder") is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. The town takes its name from its terraced layout on a hillside at the bottom of the Capo Scalea promonto ...

) and Petroniere.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magliocco Dolce Red wine grape varieties