Vernaccia is a white

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

grape that is found in many

Italian wines 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 ...

but is most commonly associated the

Tuscan wine Tuscan wine (Italian ''Toscana'') is Italian wine from the Tuscany region. Located in central Italy along the Tyrrhenian coast, Tuscany is home to some of the world's most notable wine regions. Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di ...

Vernaccia di San Gimignano Vernaccia is a white Italian wine, made from the Vernaccia grape, produced in and around the Italian hill town of San Gimignano in Tuscany. It was the first Italian wine to be awarded ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' (DOC) status in 1966; ...

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 have determined that the Vernaccia vine has many clonal varieties but is unrelated to some Italian vines known as "Vernaccia" such as the

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

n varieties used in the

Sherry Sherry ( es, jerez ) is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versi ...

-like wine ''

Vernaccia di Oristano Vernaccia di Oristano is a white Italian wine grape variety grown on the island of Sardinia which makes a wide range of wine styles for the ''Denominazione di origine controllata'' (DOC) of ''Vernaccia di Oristano'' based in the province of Oristan ...

'', the

Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol it, Trentino (man) it, Trentina (woman) or it, Altoatesino (man) it, Altoatesina (woman) or it, Sudtirolesegerman: Südtiroler (man)german: Südtirolerin (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official ...

red

grape known as Vernatsch or the black grape used in the red

sparkling wine 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 regi ...

of the Marche ''Vernaccia di Serrapetrona''. A possible reason for this is that the root of the name Vernaccia translates to "

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

" and can apply to any local grape.Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' p. 273 Harcourt Books 2001

History

The Tuscan variety of Vernaccia appears to be an ancient variety but ampelographers disagree as to whether the grape's origins are

Eastern European Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, a Vernaccia wine known as ''Vernage'' was popular in

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.Jancis Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' p. 241 Mitchell Beazley 1986

Wine style

The white wine grape of Vernaccia di San Gimignano is the most well known variety of Vernaccia and produces crisp wine with good acidity and citrus fruit. It is sometimes blended with Trebbiano but is also seen 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.

Other varieties

The Sardinian Vernaccia of ''Vernaccia di Oristano'' is known as Vernaccia di Oristano. Two other wines that were available in Sardinia in the 1960s were Sardinian Gold and Sardinian Silver. The Marche grape of ''Vernaccia di Serrapetrona'' is Vernaccia Nera.Jancis Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' p. 241 Mitchell Beazley 1986

References

{{reflist White wine grape varieties Wine grapes of Italy Wine grapes of Tuscany Cuisine of Sardinia

History

Wine style

Other varieties

See also

References