Bellone is a white
Italian wine
Italian wine () is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine in the world, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, as well as the List of wine-producing regions#Countries, world's ...
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 ...
that wine historians believed was cultivated in
Roman times
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingd ...
. By 1990, nearly of the variety was still being cultivated and eligible to be blended in the wines of several
Latium
Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Definition
Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whic ...
''
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; ; 'designation of origin');
* ''Indicazione ...
s'' (DOCs). According to wine expert
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 ...
, Bellone produces a juicy white wine.
[J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 29 Oxford University Press 1996 ]
Bellone is the principal white grape in Bianco blends in
Cori,
Marino,
Nettuno
Nettuno is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy, south of Rome. A resort city and agricultural center on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it has a population of approximately 50,000.
Economy
It has a ...
, and
Roma DOCs and a dozen IGPs. It is also an allowed blending component in more famous Italian white wines such as
Frascati
Frascati () is a city and in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, ...
(max 30%). It is primarily grown in
Lazio
Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
and
Umbria
Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...
.
Synonyms
Among the synonyms that Bellone has been known under: Albanese, Arciprete, Arcipreto, Bello buono, Bello cacchione, Bello cencioloso, Bello cera, Bello fagotte, Bello fagotto, Bello gentile, Bello palloccone, Bello piccolitto, Bello romanesco, Bello romano, Bello terrigno, Bello veltrano, Bello verdone, Cacchione, Ciciniello, Pampanoro, Pantrastico, Pociccone, Pocioccone, Uva pane, Uva pantastico, Uva presta and Zinna Vacca.
References
{{reflist
White wine grape varieties
Nettuno