Lagrein () is a red wine

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 ...

native to the valleys of

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

, northern Italy. Along with Marzemino, it is a descendant of Teroldego, and related to

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

and

Dureza Dureza is a dark-skinned French wine grape variety from the Ardèche department of south central France in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The grape is most widely known for being the father vine of Syrah—a discovery that confirmed that the ...

. The name suggests its origins lie in the Lagarina valley of Trentino. It was mentioned as early as in the 17th century, in records of the Muri Abbey near Bolzano.

Wine regions

Cultivation of Lagrein in South Tyrol usually results in the tannic red wines Lagrein Scuro, or Lagrein Dunkel, or the fragrant

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...

wines Lagrein Rosato, or Lagrein Kretzer. In recent years,

winemaking Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...

techniques have changed, with shortened maceration periods and used oak to achieve less aggressive flavours. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

it is increasing in popularity, increasing from zero at the start of the century to about 40 producers currently, mostly in the cooler parts of the south-eastern states. Lagrein was pioneered in Australia by Peter May of Melbourne University’s Burnley Campus who discovered a couple of vines in the "vine library" of the

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

at Merbein in northeast Victoria, and in part influenced by research by Richard Smart and Peter Dry, planted the variety in his garden-sized vineyard at Kyneton in 1988. There are small quantities of Lagrein grown in the Central Coast of California where it produces single varietal wine and is also blended with

and Petite Sirah, and an additional production vineyard in the Umpqua Valley AVA which has planted. Additional plantings include small acreage in the Willamette Valley, grown entirely by Montinore Estate. There are also small plantings in the Similkameen Valley in British Columbia, where it makes a single-varietal wine and is also blended with Toroldego.

Styles

Lagrein produces wine with high acidity that are highly tannic. Eric Asimov notes that Lagrein produces

References

External links

Detailed info on Lagrein
from lagrein.it (

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) {{Authority control Wines of South Tyrol Red wine grape varieties Wine grapes of Italy