Aleatico 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 Viti ...
. It is notable for being the primary grape in the
cult wine
Cult wines are wines for which dedicated groups of committed enthusiasts will pay large sums of money.
Cult wines are often seen as trophy wines to be collected or as investment wine to be held rather than consumed. Because price is often seen ...
Aleatico di Portoferraio made in
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 National ...
. In
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
is known as Red Moscatel. The grape has also been cultivated at
Mudgee
Mudgee is a town in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley north-west of Sydney and is the largest town in the Mid-Western Regional Council Local gover ...
in
New South Wales
)
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, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
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, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
[J. Robinson ''Vines Grapes & Wines'' pg 189 Mitchell Beazley 1986 ]
History
![Napoleon crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Napoleon_crop.jpg)
Ampelographers suspect that Aleatico may be a dark-skinned variant of the French wine grape
Muscat blanc à Petits Grains
Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...
, which is a member of the extensive
Muscat family
The Muscat family of grapes includes over 200 grape varieties belonging to the ''Vitis vinifera'' species that have been used in wine production and as raisin and table grapes around the globe for many centuries. Their colors range from white ...
of grapes, believed to be the oldest family of ''
Vitis vinifera
''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curre ...
'' in the world.
[Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 35 Harcourt Books 2001 ] DNA profiling
DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding.
DNA profiling is a forensic tec ...
conducted at
Istituto Agrario di San Michele all’Adige
The Edmund Mach Foundation, formerly the ''Istituto Agrario di San Michele all’Adige'' (IASMA), is an agrarian institution and wine academy located in Trentino in north-east Italy. It was founded in 1874, when the Tyrolean Diet at Innsbruck deci ...
suggests that the relationship between Muscat blanc à Petits Grains and Aleatico may be that of a parent-offspring rather than just a mutation.
[Jancis Robinson (ed), ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'', 3rd edition (Oxford University Press, 2006, ), pp. 10-11] Similar theories posit that the grape is descended from Tuscan Muscat Noir. Historians also disagree on Aleatico's exact origins: the vine may have been brought to Italy by the
ancient Greeks
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cultu ...
or is native to the southern Italian region of
Apulia
it, Pugliese
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.
[S. Gold ']
Aleatico - A little Known Italian Grape that makes a fabulous Dessert Wine
"'' Alta Cucina Epicurean Society, Accessed: December 13th, 2009
During the 14th century, the Italian wine writer
Pietro Crescenzi
Pietro de' Crescenzi ( 1230/35 – c. 1320), la, 'Petrus de Crescentiis', was a Bologna, Bolognese jurist,Robert G. Calkins, "Piero de' Crescenzi and the Medieval Garden", in ''Medieval Gardens'', ed. Elisabeth B. MacDougall, Dumbarton Oaks, 1 ...
wrote of wine being produced in central Italy from the "Livatica" grape, today believed to be Aleatico. In Elba, there is a long history of producing
dessert wine
Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert.
There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal ...
s from Aleatico.
During his exile on Elba, the Aleatico wines of the island became a favorite drink of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. He was reported to have said that they were his only consolation during this time.
Wine regions
![VJB Cellars - Stierch - 5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/VJB_Cellars_-_Stierch_-_5.31.23.jpg)
Aleatico is most commonly found in Italy, Tuscany (primarily in Elba), Lazio, Umbria, Piedmont,
Apulia.
Smaller plantings can be found in the regions of
Marche
Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...
,
Abruzzo
Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...
and
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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.
Outside of Italy the grape is grown in Azerbaijan,
Australia, California, Chile,
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
(though not permitted in any AOC-authorized wines),
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
and
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
.
For most of the 20th century, Italian plantings of the grape had been in decline, but recent years have seen a spike of interest in the variety.
In Elba there is a
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 tipic ...
, the Aleatico dell’Elba Passito DOCG dedicated to the production of ''
passito
Straw wine, or raisin wine, is a wine made from grapes that have been dried to concentrate their juice. The result is similar to that of the ice wine process, but is a much older process and suitable for warm climates. The technique dates back ...
''-style wines made from Aleatico. Under Italy's
appellation
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...
system, very few dessert wines receive the highest designation of DOCG level, making the Aleatico dell’Elba Passito a rarity in Italy.
In
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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is famous "Novello rosso DOC" produced in Colli Tortonesi.
In Lazio, Aleatico is found around
Lake Bolsena
Lake Bolsena ( it, Lago di Bolsena) is a lake of volcanic origin in the northern part of the province of Viterbo called ''Alto Lazio'' ("Upper Latium") or ''Tuscia'' in central Italy. It is the largest volcanic lake in Europe. Roman historic ...
, where it has its own ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' region of the Aleatico di Gradoli DOC. This dessert wine is produced from grapes grown on the northwestern hillsides of the lake, which partially overlaps into the
Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone DOC.
[M. Ewing-Mulligan & E. McCarthy ''Italian Wines for Dummies'' pg 198 Hungry Minds 2001 ] In Apulia the Aleatico di Puglia DOC exists for this grape.
Wine styles
![Litchi chinensis Luc Viatour](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Litchi_chinensis_Luc_Viatour.jpg)
Aleatico is often used to produce dessert wines. The grapes may be
dried
Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water or another solvent by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production step before selling or packaging products. To be consider ...
or the wines may be
fortified
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
in a ''liquoroso'' style. The wines are typically
aged
Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...
at least 6 months prior to release, with Italian wines labeled as "Liquoroso
Riserva
Reserve wine is wine of a higher quality than usual, a wine that has been aged before sale, or both. Traditionally, winemakers would reserve some of their best wine rather than sell it immediately, coining the term.
In some countries the use of t ...
," requiring three years of aging, at least 2 of them in
wood barrels.
Aleatico wines are characterized by the
aroma
An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their sense ...
of
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
s, a trait they share with Muscat blanc à Petits Grains.
Other aroma notes commonly include various
berry fruits and
lychees
Lychee (US: ; UK: ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the soapberry family, '' Sapindaceae''.
It is a tropical tree native to Southeast and Southwest China (the Guangdong, Fujian, Yu ...
. Aleatico wines tend to have high
alcohol content
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
balanced by the
grape's acidity.
Synonyms and mutations
In Chile, the grape is known as Red Moscatel.
Rare synonyms include Livatica, Leatico and Agliano.
A white mutation known as Aleatico Bianco exists but is infrequently cultivated.
References
{{reflist
Red wine grape varieties
Wine grapes of Tuscany