Rossolino nero is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Valtellina region of

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

in northern Italy. The grape was once thought to be a

clone Clone or Clones or Cloning or Cloned or The Clone may refer to: Places * Clones, County Fermanagh * Clones, County Monaghan, a town in Ireland Biology * Clone (B-cell), a lymphocyte clone, the massive presence of which may indicate a pathologi ...

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 win ...

but

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 ...

in the late 20th and early 21st century has shown that the two grapes are distinct varieties but are likely related. Around the village of

Teglio Teglio (''Téi'' in Valtellinese dialect) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about east of Sondrio, on the border with Switzerland. The main attract ...

, a pink-skinned color mutation of Rossolino nero exist that is known as Rossolino Rosa.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 915-916 Allen Lane 2012

Viticulture

Rossolino nero is a mid-ripening vine that can be very vigorous and prone to produce excessive amounts of foliage and suckers if not kept in check with vine training and leaf pulling. While the grapevine has good resistance to downy mildew, it is very susceptible to the viticultural hazards of

botrytis bunch rot ''Botrytis cinerea'' is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as "botrytis bunch rot"; in horticulture, it is usually called "grey mould" or ...

and powdery mildew.

Relationship to other grapes

For many years Rossolino nero was thought to be a clone of Rossola nera, a red grape permitted to be blended with Nebbiolo in the '' Denominazione di origine controllata'' (DOC) of Valtellina. Even though DNA analysis has now shown that the two grapes are distinct, the varieties are often found intermixed 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 ...

and in official Italian grape census, plantings of two are often combined the total calculations. Further DNA profiling has suggested that Rossolino nero and Rossola nera are closely related as parent-offspring with Rossola nera most likely being the parent variety and Rossolino nero the offspring. Around the village of Teglio in the

province of Sondrio The Province of Sondrio ( it, provincia di Sondrio) is in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Its provincial capital is the city of Sondrio. As of 2017, it has a population of 181,403. History The Province was established in 1815, within ...

near the Swiss border, a pink-berried color mutation of Rossolino nero has been found that is known as Rossolino rosa.

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties