Girò is a red

Italian wine Italian wine () is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine in the world, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, as well as the List of wine-producing regions#Countries, world's ...

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, Zante currant, currant, sultana (grape), sultana). For a complete list of all grape species, including those unimp ...

that is grown on

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

and is used mostly in the production of fortified wines in the Giro di Cagliari ''

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). The grape was once widely planted throughout Sardinia but its plantings were decimated when the phylloxera epidemic hit the island at the end of the nineteenth century. At the turn of the 21st century there were 552

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s (1,364 acres) of the grape planted throughout Italy, mostly in the Sardinian provinces of

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

and Oristano.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pg 22-23, 411-412 Allen Lane 2012

Origins

Wine historians and ampelographers have speculated that the grape has Spanish origins and may have been introduced to the island when it was ruled by the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 79 Oxford University Press 1996 One theory suggest that the grape was brought to Sardinian around the same time that Mazuelo,

Graciano Graciano is a Spanish red wine grape that is grown primarily in Rioja. The vine produces a low yield that are normally harvested in late October. The wine produced is characterized by its deep red color, strong aroma and ability to age ...

and

Pascale Pascale is a common Francophone given name, the feminine of the name Pascal. The same spelling is also an Italian form of the masculine name ''Pascal'', and an Italian surname derived from the given name. Pascale derives from the Latin ''pas ...

were introduced.

Relationship to other grapes

In ampelographical text, Girò is often listed as the same variety as Albaranzeuli nero. However while recent

DNA profiling DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting and genetic fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is cal ...

has determined that Girò is likely a parent of the Sardinian wine grape Albaranzeuli bianco, the exact relationship between Albaranzeuli Nero and Girò is not yet clear. There has similarly been a long association between Girò and the white Spanish wine grape Giró blanc grown in

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

of the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

. French ampelographer Pierre Galet was one of the first ampelographers to speculate that Girò and Giró blanc might be separate grape varieties and not just color mutations. Galet's hypothesis was confirmed by DNA analysis in 2007 showing that the two grapes were, indeed, different varieties.

Viticulture and winemaking

The Girò grape has shown itself to thrive in very hot and dry climates, though in these conditions the grapes will lack

acidity An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid. The first category of acids are the ...

. The grapes are considered mid to late-ripening and have the potential to accumulate high levels of

sugars Sugar is the generic name for Sweetness, sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides ...

which lend itself well to the production of sweet wines. Some producers will allow their Girò to hang on the vine long after regular harvest, allowing the grapes to shrivel and desiccate, further concentrating the sugars. Other producers allow the grapes to dry after the harvest on straw mats or in drying rooms.

Wine styles

Girò is most commonly associated with the production of fortified wines that can be produced in both a sweet and dry style. Wine expert

Jancis Robinson Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, ComMA, MW (born 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the ''Financial Times'', and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com, updated daily. She ...

describes some of the sweeter examples of Girò to be lacking in acidity but having firm

tannins 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'' is widely applied to any large po ...

and a characteristic cherry

aroma An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is a smell or a scent caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds generally found in low concentrations that humans and many animals can perceive v ...

Girò di Cagliari DOC

Based around the province of Cagliari and extending into vineyards around the commune of Oristano in the neighboring province is the DOC zone dedicated to production of

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

Girò. Both a still red wines and fortified ''liquoroso'' styles are produced from grapes that are limited to a harvest yield no greater than 12

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

/hectare. All Girò di Cagliari DOC wines must be aged a minimum of nine months prior to release with wines labeled as '' Riserva'' requiring two years of aging with at least one of those years being spent in

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pp. 167 Firefly Books 2004 The basic DOC red wine must have a minimum alcohol level of 14.5% if it has some

residual sugar The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, while ...

s or 14% if it is labeled as dry (''secco''). Both the sweet (''Liquoroso Dolce Naturale'') and dry (''Liquoroso Secco'') fortified styles must have a minimum alcohol level of 17.5%.

Synonyms

Various synonyms have been used to describe Girò and its wines including Gira, Gea, Girò Arzu, Girò Chiaro, Girò Commune, Giro di Spagna, Girò Nieddu, Girò Sardo, Gliata, Zirone, Aghina Barja, Ghjirau, Giro Arrubio, Giro Bragiu, Giro Nero, Giro Niedda, Giro Nigro, Giro Rosso, Giro Rosso di Spagna, Girone, Girone Comune, Girone Comune Rosso, Girone di Spagna, Mances de Capdell, Manses de Capdell, Nieddu Alzu and Zirone di Spagna.

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 G ...

(VIVC)
Girò
'' Accessed: December 29th, 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giro Red wine grape varieties Wine of Sardinia