Croatina is a red

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

Oltrepò Pavese The Oltrepò Pavese (; ; ) is a historical region making up the southern portion of the province of Pavia, in the northwest Italian region of Lombardy. The area is named after its location south of the Po (river), River Po as considered from th ...

region of

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

and in the

Province of Piacenza The province of Piacenza () is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city Piacenza. As of 2016, it has a total population of 286,572 inhabitants over an area of , giving it a population density of 111.38 ...

within

Emilia Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 million. Emilia-Romagna is one of ...

, but also in parts of

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

and the

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

. In the Oltrepò Pavese, in the hills of Piacenza, in Cisterna d’Asti and San Damiano d’Asti (

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; ...

), and in

Roero Roero (; ) is a geographical area in the north-east corner of the province of Cuneo in Piedmont, north-west Italy. This hilly region is known for its wines and for its fruit production: particularly the peaches of Canale (CN), Canale and the local ...

this variety is called ‘Bonarda’. It should not, however be confused with the Bonarda piemontese, which is an unrelated vine.J. Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' pg 209 Mitchell Beazley 1986 . In the Piedmont region, it is sometimes blended with

Nebbiolo Nebbiolo (, ; ) is an Italian red wine grape variety predominantly associated with its native Piedmont region, where it makes the ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) wines of Barolo, Barbaresco, Gattinara, Ghemme, a ...

in wines of Novara and Vercelli Hills.Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 85 Harcourt Books 2001

Wines

Croatina has characteristics similar to the

Dolcetto Dolcetto ( , , ) is a black Italian wine grape variety widely grown in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The Italian word ''dolcetto'' means "little sweet one", but it is not certain that the name originally carried any reference to th ...

grape in that it tends to produce fruity, deeply colored wines that are mildly tannic and can benefit from bottle

aging Ageing (or aging in American English) is the process of becoming Old age, older until death. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi; whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentiall ...

. Such is the case with the wine Oltrepò Pavese Bonarda

DOC DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: People and characters * Doc, an abbreviation of doctor * Doc (nickname) * Doc (mascot), the Towson University mascot Persons * The D.O.C., American rapper (born 1968) * Doc Gallows (born 1983), ring nam ...

which contains from 85% to 100% Croatina (under its local name of ‘Bonarda’). However Croatina is often blended with

Barbera Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy (after Sangiovese and Montepulciano). It produces good yields and is known for deep color, full body, low tannins and high levels ...

, as in Gutturnio, a wine from

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

containing 30.0% – 45.0% Croatina. It may also be employed as a very minor part of a blend, as is the case with some examples of

Amarone Amarone della Valpolicella, usually known as Amarone (, ), is an Italian DOCG denomination of typically rich dry red wine made from the partially dried grapes of the Corvina (45–95%, of which up to 50% could be substituted with Corvinone), R ...

Wine regions

The

s which allow the use of the Croatina grape are: ;

: Colli di Parma 25% – 40% : Colli di Scandiano e di Canossa 0% – 15% : Colli Piacentini ( Gutturnio) 30% – 45% ;

25% – 65% : Oltrepò Pavese Bonarda 85% – 100% :

San Colombano al Lambro San Colombano al Lambro (Western Lombard dialects, Lodigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan, in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan. San Colombano al Lambro is an exclave o ...

30% – 45% ;

: Colli Tortonesi varies but usually made as a single varietal wine, i.e., 100% : Bramaterra 20% – 30% : Cisterna d’Asti 80% – 100% : Colline Novaresi 0% – 30% : Colline Novaresi Croatina 85% – 100% : Coste della Sesia rosso at least 50% of ''one'' of the following:

, Bonarda piemontese,

Vespolina Vespolina is a red Italian wine grape variety that is planted in Piedmont around Gattinara and Ghemme. Ampelographer believe that the grape is most likely indigenous to this area of Piedmont and recent DNA profiling identified a parent-offspring ...

, Croatina or Barbera : Coste della Sesia Croatina 85% – 100% ;

0% – 5% .

References

{{Wines Red wine grape varieties Wine grapes of Italy Wine grapes of Piedmont Wine grapes of Veneto