Tag: ungrafted vines

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Tasting the native wines of Sardinia

The idyllic island is not just a vacation destination: Consider it your new go-to region for compelling Italian wines.

Mario Pala and Kerin O’Keefe with ungrafted alberello Bovale vines in the background

Situated off the west coast of Italy, postcard-perfect Sardinia, the second-largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily, is celebrated for its clear turquoise waters, white-sand beaches and wild coastline. But it’s also a paradise for wine lovers.

The island is home to a variety of native grapes, like the island’s signature white—the rich yet refreshing Vermentino—and the lighter-bodied Nuragus. Fans of red wines can turn to selections made from Monica, Carignano and Sardinia’s flagship red, Cannonau, which range from savory and light-bodied to complex and structured. Although not household names, the best bottlings from Sardinia (Sardegna in Italian) are among the most fascinating wines coming out of Italy.

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Cult Barolo producer Teobaldo Cappellano dies

Teobaldo Cappellano, the respected and controversial Barolo producer, has died at 65.

Cappellano – known to friends as Baldo – was an outspoken traditionalist who often joined forces with Beppe Rinaldi and the late Bartolo Mascarello. They referred to themselves as the ‘Last of the Mohicans’ for their fierce determination to defend classically crafted Barolos.

A purist who believed that the future of Barolo lay in the denomination’s traditional winemaking methods, he shunned barriques, over-extraction and excessive concentration. He also denigrated contemporary scoring systems and refused to submit his wines for rating.

The late winemaker’s complex Barolos were produced in tiny quantities. His Barolo Otin Fiorin Piè Franco, made with grapes from ungrafted vines, was particularly sought by collectors the world over.

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The Great Escape

It is rare today to find vines that have not been grafted to American rootstock to counter phylloxera, which destroyed so many of the world’s vines. Until recently, few people had any idea of how this had affected the wines’ flavours, but a few producers are now making wines from ungrafted vines and have discovered a taste of yesteryear, writes Kerin O’Keefe.

It is hard to believe that a nearly microscopic louse is responsible for obliterating age-old traditions of vine cultivation and wine production around the world. Yet phylloxera, a tiny insect which kills grape vines by attacking their roots, accomplished just that and continues to attack California and parts of the New World today.

Aptly named phylloxera vastatrix or ‘the devastator’ by 19th-century French scientists, the pest was unknowingly imported into Europe from America with live vines during the height of botanical imports from the New World. Destroying nearly 2.5 million ha (hectares) in France alone, phylloxera raged throughout Europe from the 1860s until the 1930s before being brought under control.

After much trial and error, it was discovered that the only effective solution was grafting the European vitis vinifera varietals onto resistant US rootstocks, a technique which still holds true today. While replanting grafted vines saved wine production from extinction in the Old World, experts and wine lovers have often wondered what wine was like before phylloxera. Thanks to tiny parcels of vineyards throughout Europe which were inexplicably unscathed by this voracious aphid – as well as a very few courageous producers who are risking all by planting ungrafted vines – it is still possible to get a taste of these wines from the past.

Read the article: The Great Escape