Cascarolo bianco 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 is grown primarily in the

Piedmont wine Piedmont wine is the range of Italian wines made in the region of Piedmont, in the northwestern corner of Italy. The best-known wines from the region include Barolo and Barbaresco. They are made from the Nebbiolo grape. These wines are ideal for ...

region of northwest Italy. The grape has a long history in the region and was noted in 1606 by Giovanni Battista Croce, vineyard owner and official jeweler to

Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy Charles Emmanuel I (; 12 January 1562 – 26 July 1630), known as the Great, was the Duke of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 30 August 1580 until his death almost 50 years later in 1630, he was the longest-reigning Savoyard monarch ...

, as growing in the hills around

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

and producing wine of high esteem. It was once thought that Cascarolo bianco was the same variety as the

Hungarian wine Hungarian wine has a history dating back to the Kingdom of Hungary. Outside Hungary, the best-known wines are the white dessert wine Tokaji aszú (particularly in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia) and the red wine Bull's Blood of Eger ( E ...

grape Fehér Gohér (also known as Augster Weisser) but

DNA profiling DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting and genetic fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is cal ...

in the early 21st century determined that the two grapes are unrelated. Today

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 th ...

s believe that the grape is an offspring of the

Swiss wine Swiss wine is produced from nearly of vineyards, and the wines are mainly produced in the west and in the south of Switzerland, in the cantons of Geneva, Neuchâtel, Ticino, Valais and Vaud. White grape varieties are grown on 43% of the country' ...

grape

Rèze Rèze is a white Swiss wine grape variety that is primarily found around the city of Sierre in the canton of Valais in southwest Switzerland.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 152 Oxford University Press 1996 Here the var ...

with DNA evidence suggesting some relationship with another white Piedmontese grape,

Erbaluce Erbaluce or Erbaluce bianca is a white Italian wine grape grown primarily in the Piedmont region around Caluso, in Canavese. In addition to dry table wines, it is used to make sweet wines with deep golden coloring, such as '' passito''. The g ...

.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 197-198 Allen Lane 2012 Ampelographers believe that the name ''Cascarolo'' is derived from the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

''cascolare'', meaning "to fall", which could be a reference to the susceptibility of the variety to the

viticultural hazard This is a list of diseases of grapes (''Vitis'' spp.). Bacterial diseases Fungal diseases Miscellaneous diseases and disorders Nematodes, parasitic Phytoplasma, virus and viruslike diseases See also *'' Ampeloglypter ater'' *'' Am ...

coulure Coulure (pronounced coo-LYUR) is a viticultural hazard that is the result of metabolic reactions to weather conditions that causes a failure of grapes to develop after flowering. In English the word ''shatter'' is sometimes used. Coulure is tri ...

which causes unfertilized grape flowers to develop into poorly formed berries that fall off the vine.

History and relationship to other grapes

Cascarolo bianco is a very old grape variety that has been growing in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy for several centuries. Wines made from the grape were once highly prized with the Cascarolo bianco wines from Torino being mentioned by Giovanni Battista Croce in 1606. DNA profiling has shown that the grape is likely the offspring of the Swiss wine grape Rèze and an unknown second parent. That other parent maybe the Piedmontese grape Erbaluce which DNA analysis has shown to have some close relationship with Cascarolo bianco but the exact nature of that relationship is not yet known. In his 1887 handbook on

ampelography 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 th ...

, German ampelographer Hermann Goethe speculated that Cascarolo bianco was the same variety as the Hungarian wine grape Fehér Gohér (also known as Augster Weisser) but today DNA evidence has shown that the two grapes are unrelated.

Wine regions

For many centuries Cascarolo bianco was widely planted throughout Piedmont, particularly around the communes of

Chieri Chieri (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont (Italy), located about southeast of Turin, by rail and by road. It borders the following municipalities: Baldissero Torinese, Pavarolo, Montaldo Torinese, Pino ...

and

Pinerolo Pinerolo (; ; ; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, northwestern Italy, southwest of Turin on the river Chisone. The Lemina torrent has its source at the boundary between Pinerolo and San Pietro Val di Lemi ...

in the

province of Turin The province of Turin (; ; ) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Turin. The province existed until 31 December 2014, when it was replaced by the Metropolitan City of Turin. Geography It ...

Casale Monferrato Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Northwest Italy, northwestern Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po River, Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montfe ...

in the

province of Alessandria The province of Alessandria (; ; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian Provinces of Italy, province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont. The prov ...

and Moncalvo in the

province of Asti The province of Asti (; Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ''provincia d'Ast'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Asti. To the northwest it borders on the Metropolitan City of Turin; ...

. However today the grape has very limited plantings and is found mostly in

field blend Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...

s from older vineyards found in the foothills of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

Synonyms

Over the years, Cascarolo bianco has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Cascarala, Cascarecul, Cascarelbo and Cascarolo.

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)
Cascarolo bianco
'' Accessed: May 26th, 2013

References

{{reflist White wine grape varieties