Verdeca 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 primarily grown in
Apulia in southern Italy where
ampelographers believe that the grape may have originated. In Apulia, it is one of the main grapes in the ''
Denominazione di origine controllata
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 tipi ...
'' wines of
Locorotondo DOC and
Martina Franca DOC
Martina Franca, or just Martina ( Martinese: ), is a town and ''municipality'' in the province of Taranto, Apulia, Italy. It is the second most populated town of the province after Taranto, and has a population (2016) of 49,086. Since 1975, ...
along with
Bianco d'Alessano. In
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
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, it is grown on the slopes of
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...
where it used as a blending variety with
Falanghina
Falanghina, also called Falanghina Greco, is a variety of wine grape, ''Vitis vinifera,'' used for white wines. It is an ancient grape variety which may have provided a basis for the classical Falernian wine, and has considerable character.winep ...
,
Coda di volpe and
Greco
Greco may refer to:
People
* Greco (surname), a list of people with this surname
* a masculine variant of Greca (given name), an Italian feminine given name
* Greco Mafia clan, one of the most influential Mafia clans in Sicily and Calabria
Wine ...
in both the white wines and the
sweet
Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketone ...
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 ...
of the region,
Lacryma Christi
Lacryma Christi () or Lachryma Christi of Vesuvius is the name of a Neapolitan type of wine produced on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius in Campania, Italy. White Lacryma Christi is made mainly from Verdeca and Coda di Volpe grapes, with smaller pr ...
. It is also a minor component used in the some
vermouth
Vermouth (, ) is an aromatized fortified wine, flavoured with various botanicals (roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, and spices) and sometimes colored. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced in the mid- to late 18th centur ...
production.
[J. Bastianich & D. Lynch ''Vino Italiano'' pg 297, 312-316, 401 Crown Publishing 2005 ][J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 194 Oxford University Press 1996 ]
DOC wines
![Italia 2010 - Perrini organic vineyard in Puglia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Italia_2010_-_Perrini_organic_vineyard_in_Puglia.jpg)
Verdeca is a minor blending component in several DOCs central and southern Italy but some of the more notable DOCs the grape can be found in include:
[P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pp. 168-216 Firefly Books 2004 ]
*
Gravina DOC - A white wine only DOC in the Apulia region based around the town of
Gravina. The wine is primarily a blend of
Malvasia del Chianti (40-65%) with
Greco di Tufo and/or Bianco d'Alessano making up the remaining percentages of the blend. Verdeca, along with
Bombino bianco
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.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine ...
and
Trebbiano can be used up to a maximum of 10%. Grapes destined for this DOC must be
harvested to a
yield no greater than 15
tonnes
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...
/
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...
with the finished wine attaining a minimum
alcohol level
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 ...
of 11%. A
sparkling ''Spumante'' style wine can also be produced under the same DOC requirements as the white wine.
*Locorotondo DOC - A white only DOC in Apulia that covers 1650 ha (4000 acres) around the town of
Locorotondo
Locorotondo ( Barese: ) is a town and municipality of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy, with a population of about 14,000. It is situated between Martina Franca and Alberobello in the Valle d'Itria, a green stretch of countr ...
. Verdeca must account for 50-65% of the blend with Bianco d'Alessano usually filling in the remaining 35-50%.
Fiano, Bombino and Malvasia Toscana are permitted to be included up to the 5% of the total blend. Grapes destined for DOC wines must be kept to a maximum yield of 13 tonnes/ha with the finished product attaining a minimum alcohol level of 11%. A sparkling ''Spumante'' style wine can also be produced under the same DOC requirements as the white wines.
*Martina Franca DOC - A white only DOC in Apulia around the town of
Martina Franca
Martina Franca, or just Martina ( Martinese: ), is a town and ''municipality'' in the province of Taranto, Apulia, Italy. It is the second most populated town of the province after Taranto, and has a population (2016) of 49,086. Since 1975, th ...
in the
Itria Valley
Itria Valley (in Italian: ''Valle d'Itria'') is an area located in Apulia region, in Southern Italy.
Itria Valley spreads over Province of Bari, Province of Brindisi and Province of Taranto, and coincide with the lower part of Murgia upland (Low ...
in Apulia. Verdeca must account for 50-65% of the blend with Bianco d'Alessano usually filling in the remaining 35-50%. Fiano, Bombino and Malvasia Toscana are permitted to be included up to the 5% of the total blend. Grapes destined for DOC wines must be kept to a maximum yield of 13 tonnes/ha with the finished wine attaining a minimum alcohol level of 11%. A sparkling ''Spumante'' style wine can also be produced under the same DOC requirements as the white wines.
*
Ostuni DOC
Ostuni is a white or '' rosé'' style Italian wine awarded ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' (DOC) status in 1972, in the Province of Brindisi of Apulia.M. Ewing-Mulligan & E. McCarthy ''Italian Wines for Dummies'' pg 221 Hungry Minds 200 ...
- Based around three small mountains surrounding the town of
Ostuni
Ostuni ( nap, label= Barese, Ostune; scn, label=Salentino, Stune) is a city and '' comune'', located about 8 km from the coast, in the province of Brindisi, region of Apulia, Italy. The town has a population of about 32,000 during the win ...
in the
Murgia region near the
Adriatic sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
. The white wines are primarily made from the local grapes
Impigno (50-85%) and
Francavilla (15-50%) with Verdeca allowed in the blend, along with Bianco d'Alessano, up to a maximum of 10%. Grapes destined for DOC wines must be kept to a maximum yield of 11 tonnes/ha with the finished product attaining a minimum alcohol level of 11%.
*
San Severo DOC - A DOC containing around 2,000 ha (5,000 acres) situated around the town of
San Severo
San Severo (; formerly known as Castellum Sancti Severini, then San Severino and Sansevero; locally ) is a city and comune of c. 51,919 inhabitants in the province of Foggia, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. Rising on the foot of the spur of Gargano ...
, north of
Foggia in the
Capitanata di Puglia region. The white wines of the DOC are primarily Bombino Bianco (40-60%) and Trebbiano Toscano (40-60%) with Verdeca, along with Malvasia del Chianti, permitted up to a maximum of 20%. Grapes destined for DOC wines must be kept to a maximum yield of 14 tonnes/ha with the finished attaining a minimum alcohol level of 11%.
*
Velletri DOC - Based around the town of
Velletri
Velletri (; la, Velitrae; xvo, Velester) is an Italian ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, approximately 40 km to the southeast of the city centre, located in the Alban Hills, in the region of Lazio, central Italy. Neighbouring comm ...
in the
Lazio
it, Laziale
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region. The white are primarily composed of Malvasia Bianca di Candida (up to 70%) with Verdeca, Trebbiano and
Giallo
In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...
permitted up to 30% total and
Bellone
Bellone is a white Italian wine grape variety that wine historians believed was cultivated in Roman times. By 1990, nearly of the variety was still being cultivated and eligible to be blended in the wines of several Latium ''Denominazione di ori ...
and Bombino bianco permitted up to 10%. Grapes destined for DOC wines must be kept to a maximum yield of 16 tonnes/ha with the finished wine attaining a minimum alcohol level of 11%.
*
Vesuvio DOC - Large DOC based in the
volcanic soils
The soil composition of vineyards is one of the most important viticultural considerations when planting grape vines. The soil supports the root structure of the vine and influences the drainage levels and amount of minerals and nutrients that the ...
around Mt. Vesuvius. The white wines are composed primarily of Coda di Volpe (35-80%) with Verdeca permitted up to 45% and Falanghina and Greco up to 20%. Grapes destined for DOC wines must be kept to a maximum yield of 10 tonnes/ha with the finished product attaining a minimum alcohol level of 11%. The sweet dessert wine Lacryma Christi can also be produced under the same DOC blend/requirements of the white wine with the finished wine needing to reach a minimum alcohol level of 12%.
Wine styles
![VistadiNapoli](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/VistadiNapoli.jpg)
While used mostly as blending variety, Verdeca on its own can produce
minerally wines that tend to have a "
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...
y" note. The grape ripens very late and even in the very warm regions of southern Italy tends to have fairly high
acidity
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a ...
and green, vegetal notes.
Synonyms
Over the years Verdeca has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Albese bianco, Albina verde, Alvino verde, Biancolina, Carosella, Primarulo, San Gennaro, Tivolese, Uva marana, Verdacchio, Verde, Verdea, Verdera, Verdesca, Verdicchio bianco, Verdicchio femmina, Verdicchio Verde, Verdicchio Peloso, Verdichio Tirolese, Verdichio Tivolese, Verdicella, Verdigno, Verdisco, Verdisco bianco, Verdisio bianco, Verdolino, Verdone and Vino verde.
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)
Verdeca
' Accessed: July 7th, 2012
References
{{reflist
White wine grape varieties