Frascati, an
Italian white wine
White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without undergoing the process of Maceration (wine), maceration, which involves prolonged contact between the juice with the grape skins, seeds, and pulp. The wine color, colou ...
, takes its name from the town of
Frascati, located 25 km southeast of Rome, in
Lazio
Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
, Italy. Archeological discoveries from the ancient town of
Tusculum
Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...
, now Frascati, demonstrate the cultivation of grapes for wine since the 5th century BC. Frascati was one of the preferred wines of
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
, of Renaissance
popes
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...
, of poets and artists visiting in the
Grand Tour (1700s and 1800s), and of the ''
La Dolce Vita
''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for 'the sweet life' or 'the good life'Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and written by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, and Brunello Rondi. The film stars M ...
'' generation in the 1960s. Made from
Malvasia di Candia,
Malvasia del Lazio,
Grechetto,
Bombino bianco, and
Trebbiano grapes, Frascati gained ''
denominazione di origine controllata
The following four classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine:
* ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; 'designation of origin');
* ''Indicazione ...
'' (DOC) status in 1966 and DOCG status in 2011, making it one of Italy's first DOC wines. The Frascati DOC/DOCG area is located in the heart of the
Roman Castles, Tusculum and Albani Hills south of
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, and north of
Lake Albano. The vineyards range from 200 to 1,000 feet in altitude. The soils are well drained and volcanic. The DOC allows for a minimum of 70% Malvasia (Bianca di Candia) and/or Malvasia del Lazio (aka Bombino) and a 30% maximum of Trebbiano and/or Greco and a maximum of 10% other white grapes. Many of the vineyards' cellars have ancient Roman caves. Modern cellars and techniques are now leading the way to an ever-growing reputation of a fine quality wine, with many award-winning labels. Frascati wine is an ingredient in the
Frascati Frizz aperitif.
[Joseph Bastianich & David Lynch: ''Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy'', pg 413, Clarkson Potter Publishers ][Paolo e Tommaso Mascherucci: ''La vite e il vino a Frascati'' - Associazione Tuscolana Amici di Frascati, 1978.][Marcus Porcius Cato: ''De Agri Cultura'', 160 B.C.]
Two Frascati wines qualified on Sep 20th 2011 for the higher
DOCG recognition:
* ''Frascati Superiore'', a white wine,
* ''Cannellino di Frascati'', a sweet dessert wine.
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References
External links
Frascati Wine (Wine-searcher.com)
{{Authority control
Italian DOC
Frascati