Trebbiano, Trebbiano Della Fiamma, Trebbiano Di Cesene, Trebbiano Di Empoli, Trebbiano Di Lucca, Trebbiano Di Lugana, Trebbiano Di Tortona, Trebbiano Fiorentino, Trebbiano Toscano, Trebbiano di Soave, Trebbiano Spoletino, Trebbiano Romagna, Trebbiano Gallo, and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, see what I mean, and if that’s not enough to give you a headache, there is also Trebbianone, Tribbiano, Tribbiano Forte, Turbiano, Spoletino, and its French names, Ugni Blanc… Now to top it all off, apparently some grapes given the name, Trebbiano, some grapes listed above, aren’t even really Trebbiano. Most print and online sources aren’t much help alleviating the confusion, and actually they tend to dissuade interest in Trebbiano in general since so much of it is grown in Italy and so much ends up as mediocre wine. - it is the most widely planted white grape in Italy comprising over 30% of all the white grape acreage. For that very reason it is an important grape, a ‘big’ grape. Much of it ends up in both high quality and mediocre blends throughout Italy and the South of France - it is also the primary grape used to produce Aceto Balsamico and Cognac.
By now, if you haven’t given up, you’re probably wondering why I would concern myself with Trebbiano when writing about esoteric Italian white wine grapes? Well early this year, I took a chance on a bottle of Azienda Agricola Ottella Lugana, Le Creete from near Lake Garda, which possessed a richness and crispness that knocked my socks off. As it turned out it was made from the Turbiano grape, a clone of Trebbiano di Lugana. While I had avoided Trebbiano in the past, the Le Creete had opened up my eyes so to speak. A second bottle confirmed my impressions, but it also exhausted the local supply. I’ve been searching ever since, but the closest I’ve come has been Trebbiano Toscana, Trebbiano D’Abruzzo, and Trebbiano Romagna, none of which get enthusiastic recommendations for high quality complex vintages. On my last trip to San Francisco, I found a bottle of Perticaia (IGT) Trebbiano Spoletino at Biondivino and decided to take a chance. It was while researching Trebbiano Spoletino (aka, Spoletino) that some facts and a lot of confusion came to light.
Trebbiano Spoletino is a very old grape that went out of fashion in the last century, and there is some suggestion that it is possibly the 'Ur' Trebbiano variety from which all others have descended - I think Trebbiano is a classical example of the significant variation in grapes and wine that can be produced when a grape is grown for centuries in vastly different climates and soils. While Trebbiano is widely planted in Umbria, most of it is Trebbiano Toscano. It is estimated that less than 150 acres of Trebbiano Spoletino are planted throughout Italy, making it a small grape indeed. The 17 acres of Perticaia vineyards are in Montefalco near both Trevi and Spoleto - 'Trevi' is thought to be the root for ‘Trebbi’ ano, and Spoletino means ‘of Spoleto.’ The grapes are late ripening with a typical late-October harvest, and after crushing the wine is produced and stored in steel tanks.
The wine is a vivid straw golden color with a slight green cast, and it has a very forward nose of honey, spice, and slightly under-ripened stone fruit. The Perticaia is medium-bodied, bordering on full-bodied and loaded with a very pleasant acidity and minerality through a long, lingering finish. It doesn’t have the yeasty/creamy richness of many of the small whites I’ve tasted from Northern Italy, but it is far from austere. It has secondary flavors of bitter almond, green pear, green apple, citrus, and slightly under-ripe yellow stone fruit all interlaced with an elusive spiciness. I had my first two glasses without food and they were thoroughly delightful and refreshing. I then served the wine with a seafood risotto, - crab and lobster stock along with chopped scallops were the main flavorings – and several new dimensions were revealed. I am not sure if it was the starch or the sweetness of the scallops, but the wine had much more fruit and a bit of creaminess on the mid-palate, making it even more delightful. Perticaia is a most enjoyable example of the Spoletino side of the Trebbiano family, and at $20 per bottle, it may be my find of the year.
PS: I have created a summary chart of the small whites I’ve tasted and a photo album of the labels for those who are interested.
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