Blatterle 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 ...

from the Alto-Adige of northeast Italy. The grape, which was historically grown around the commune of

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

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 ...

and the Eisacktal valley, gets its name from the term in the local Tyrolese dialect for "little leaves". While not widely used in commercial wine production, the grape is sometimes blended with other local Tyrolese varieties, such as Fraueler, and

Müller-Thurgau Müller-Thurgau () is a white grape variety (sp. ''Vitis vinifera'') which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882 at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute in Germany. It is a crossing of Riesling with Made ...

.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pg 112 Allen Lane 2012

History

Blatterle has a long history of being grown in northeast Italy, particularly along the

Eisack The Eisack (, ; ; or ) is a river in Northern Italy, the second largest river in South Tyrol. Its source is near the Brenner Pass, at an altitude of about 1990 m above sea level. The river draws water from an area of about 4,200 km2. After a ...

river and around the commune of Bolzano. Historically, the grape was also known under the synonym ''Platterle'' with its name being derived from the local Tyrolese word for "little leaves". Over the last few centuries, plantings of Blatterle have sharply declined and by the turn of the 21st century the variety was on the verge of

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

with only a few producers still cultivating the variety.

Viticulture

Blatterle is an early ripening grape variety that is well adapted to the

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

and short

growing season A season is a division of the year marked by changes in weather, ecology, and the amount of daylight. The growing season is that portion of the year in which local conditions (i.e. rainfall, temperature, daylight) permit normal plant growth. Whi ...

of Alto-Adige region. The grape name, meaning "little leaves", refers to the morphological trait of small grapevine leaves that can be observed in the

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

Wine regions

Today, Blatterle is almost exclusively cultivated in the Alto-Adige region where it used to make both 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. ...

'' vino da tavola'' wine and as a blending component with other local varieties, such as Fraueler, and

Synonyms

Over the years, Blatterle has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Bianchetto de Verzuolo, Blaterle, Blatterl and Platterle.

Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung G ...

(VIVC)
Blatterle
'' Accessed: April 24th, 2014

References

{{reflist White wine grape varieties