Prié blanc 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 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 Vit ...

that is grown almost exclusively in the

Valle d'Aosta DOC The Valle d'Aosta DOC (or Vallée d'Aoste DOC, in French) is an Italian ''denominazione di origine controllata'' located in the Aosta Valley of northwest Italy. Surrounded by the Alps, the Valle d'Aosta is home to the highest elevated vineyards i ...

of northwest Italy. The Valle d'Aosta varietal wine Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle is made from Prié blanc grapes.

Ampelographer Ampelography ( ἄμπελος, "vine" + γράφος, "writing") is the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines, ''Vitis'' spp. Traditionally this has been done by comparing the shape and colour of the ...

s consider Prié blanc one of the oldest grape varieties in the Valle d'Aosta. Through a complex pedigree it appears to have some genetic relationship with most every other grape variety in the region. Recent

DNA analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

has connected the grape to the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

wine grapes of Lairén in

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

and

Albillo Albillo or Albillo Real is a white Spanish wine grape varietyAlbillo Real
,

Ribera del Duero Ribera del Duero is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) located in the country's northern plateau and is one of eleven 'quality wine' regions within the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also one of several recogn ...

and

province of Ávila Ávila () is a province of central-western Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered on the south by the provinces of Toledo and Cáceres, on the west by Salamanca, on the north by Valladolid, an ...

, but it is not yet known if the grape originated in Spain and traveled to Italy or the inverse.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes – A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 845–848 Allen Lane 2012

History

Ampelographers do not yet know definitively the origins of Prié blanc but evidence shows that it is a very old variety that has been growing in the Valle d'Aosta region of northwest Italy since at least 1691 when it was documented as one of the grapes growing in the commune of Saint-Pierre near the city of

Aosta Aosta (, , ; french: Aoste , formerly ; frp, Aoûta , ''Veulla'' or ''Ouhta'' ; lat, Augusta Praetoria Salassorum; wae, Augschtal; pms, Osta) is the principal city of Aosta Valley, a bilingual region in the Italian Alps, north-northwest ...

. The origins of the name ''Prié'' is unknown but one of the grape's early synonyms ''Blanc du Valdigne'' comes from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

name for the upper reaches of the Aosta Valley that extends to

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...

with some ampelographers speculating that grape maybe indigenous to the foothills of the mountain. Another synonym ''Agostena'' which maybe derived from the ancient Latin name for the city of Aosta, ''Augusta Praetoria'', also hints to the grape's long history and potential origins in this region. However, the name could also be a derivative from the Italian word ''agosto'' referring to the month of August when this early ripening variety is sometimes ready to be harvested.Schneider A., Raimondi S., Torello Marinoni D
Prié blanc
Italian Vitis Database, Accessed: January 9th, 2014 Another potential place of origin for Prié blanc is the

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...

region of Switzerland where the grape seems to have grandparent relationship to the

Swiss wine Swiss wine is produced from nearly of vineyards, and the wines are mainly produced in the west and in the south of Switzerland, in the cantons of Geneva, Neuchâtel, Ticino, Valais and Vaud. White grape varieties are grown on 43% of the count ...

grape Rouge du Pays through Prié blanc's offspring Mayolet. In Switzerland, one of Prié blanc's primary synonyms is ''Bernarde'' which maybe a reference to the

Great St Bernard Pass it, Colle del Gran San Bernardogerman: Grosser Sankt Bernhard , photo = Great St Bernard Pass.jpg , photo_caption = View of the pass and hospice from Great St Bernard Lake with Mont Vélan in background , elevation_m = 2469 , elevation_ref ...

connecting the Valle d'Aosta to Valais which would likely be the path that cuttings of the grapevine would spread from one region to the other. However, ampelographers like Swiss grape geneticist José Vouillamoz believe that it is far more likely that Prié blanc spread from Aosta to Switzerland than the other way around. Comunidades autónomas de España

An Italian origin of Prié blanc was long assumed until DNA analysis in 2010 identified plantings of ''Legiruela'' in the province of Ávila in north central Spain were actually Prié blanc. Further profiling connected the grape to several Spanish wine grape varieties including a parent-offspring relationship with Albillo from the Ribera del Duero, Ávila in Castile and León and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

and the Lairén grown in the southern Spanish wine region of Andalusia, indicating that Prié blanc must have been in Spain for a very long time in order to propagate and interact with other varieties grown so widely apart. Additionally, the exact relationship between Prié blanc, Lairén and Albillo is not yet fully known as to which grape variety is the parent and which varieties are the offspring, suggesting that potentially Prié blanc could be of Spanish origins. Another grape variety that Prié blanc has an unclear parent-offspring relationship with is the Piedmont wine and

table grape Table grapes are grapes intended for consumption while fresh, as opposed to grapes grown for wine production, juice production, or for drying into raisins. ''Vitis vinifera'' table grapes can be in the form of either seeded or non-seeded varieta ...

Luglienga, of which the two varieties are often confused with. As Luglienga has been growing in the Piedmont region since at least 1329 (although its name has changed) (more than 300 years before the first recorded mention of Prié blanc), it would strongly suggest that Luglienga is more likely the parent variety with Prié blanc the offspring. But the question of how Prié blanc traveled from northern Italy to Spain is still not answered.

Relationship to other grapes

In addition to the unclear relationship with the varieties mentioned above, Prié blanc has a close genetic relationship to several grape varieties grown in the Valle d'Aosta region. These include a clear parent-offspring relationship with Mayolet and Primetta. Through its parentage of Primetta, Prié blanc is a grand parent of the Swiss grape Rouge du Pays and subsequent great-grandparent variety to the Valle d'Aosta grapes Roussin, Cornalian and Neret di Saint Vincent.

Viticulture

Historically, there have been two clones of Prié blanc found in the Valle d'Aosta region. The

Valdigne The Valdigne is the upper part of the Aosta Valley in north-west Italy. It is traversed by the Dora Baltea (french: Doire baltée), a tributary of the Po. Description It extends from La Salle to Courmayeur, including the side valleys of Va ...

clone from the upper part of the Valley has been a specialty grown in the communes of

Morgex Morgex ( Valdôtain: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the mid ...

and La Salle. The second clone grown around the Valpelline region of the valley in the foothills of

Grand Combin The Grand Combin is a mountain massif in the western Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais. At a height of the summit of ''Combin de Grafeneire'' is one of the highest peaks in the Alps and the second most prominent of the Pennine Alps. The Gran ...

, though recorded in the area in 1838 by ampelographer

Lorenzo Gatta Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo ...

, is now considered largely extinct with only the Valdigne clone still being used commercially throughout the Valle d'Aosta. Prié blanc is an early ripening grape variety that has good winter-hardiness and resistance to frost. The grapevine is susceptible to several other viticultural hazards including various rots and the grapevine moth species '' Eupoecilia ambiguella''. Most vines of Prié blanc are

ungrafted Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The su ...

due to

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, ...

's difficulties surviving in the harsh climate conditions of the Valle d'Aosta. In order to maximize the amount of heat needed to fully ripen, vines of Prié blanc are usually trained in low

pergola A pergola is most commonly an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support cross-beams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are trained. ...

systems near to the ground so that the vines can capture the heat radiating from the soil.

Wine regions

The vast majority of Prié blanc plantings in the world are found in the Valle d'Aosta region of northwest Italy with recorded in 2000. Most of these plantings are situated around the communes of La Salle and Morgex where the grape is permitted to be made as a

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. ...

wine in the ''

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; ; English language, English: “designatio ...

'' (DOC) zone of Valle d'Aosta under the label of Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle. With vineyards planted between to above sea level, these plantings of Prié blanc are some of the highest-elevation vineyards in continental Europe. Outside of Italy, a scant of Prié blanc is planted in the Valais region of Switzerland as of 2005 where the grape is known as ''Bernarde''.James Molesworth '
Taking a Break with a Brisk Italian White
'' Wine Spectator, August 17th, 2011 In Spain, plantings of the grape around found around the commune of San Esteban del Valle in the province of Ávila in the Castile and León region under the name ''Legiruela''. However, these plantings are so small that they have not been registered in the official Spanish census of grape varieties.

Styles

According to

Master of Wine Master of Wine (MW) is a qualification (not an academic degree) issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom. The MW qualification is generally regarded in the wine industry as one of the highest standards of professional kno ...

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 ...

, Prié blanc tends to make

dry wines 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, wh ...

with "fresh" acidity levels and aromas of white flowers and hay. In the Valle d'Aosta region, the grape is sometimes used to make dessert wines and

sparkling wines Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne re ...

made in the traditional method of Champagne.

Synonyms

Over the years, Prié blanc has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Agostenga, Agostana, Agostenga bianca. Agostenga blanc, Agostina, Agostinga, Aostenga, Augustina, Augusttraube, Bernarde (in the Valais region), Bernarde nel Vallese, Bernardine, Bianca Capella, Bianca Capello, Blanc Commun, Blanc de La Salle, Blanc de Morgex, Blanc du Valdigne, Blanc Gros, Blanc Petit, Cibebo bianco, Daniela, Danijela, Early Green Madeira, Frueher Leipziger, Giruelo, Gros blanc, Hedvabne Zlute, Hodvabne Zelene, Hodvabne Zlte, Kienzheimer, Kilianer, Legiruela (in the province of Ávila in Castilla y León), Leipziger Frueh, Lugliatica verde, Luglienca bianca, Lyany Mello, Maddalena Salomon, Madeleine Alice, Madeleine Alice Salomon, Malvasia Belaia, Malvasier Frueh weiss, Malvaziya Belaya, Perltraube, Petit blanc, Plant de la Salle, Precoce de Kientzheim, Prie, Prie bianco, Rabolina weiss, Raisin d'Aout, Rosinentraube, Seidentraube Gruen, Uva Agostina, Uva d'Agosto, Uva Luce, Vert Precoce de Madere, Weisswaelscher and Zibebe weiss.

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)
Prié blanc
' Accessed: 5 December 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prie blanc White wine grape varieties