Mantonico 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 ...

grown in the Calabria wine region of southern Italy. The grape should not be confused with the similarly named Calabrian grape

Montonico bianco Mantonico bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Calabria (wine), Calabria region of southern Italy. Ampelographers believe that the grape is likely of Greek (wine), Greek origins and was transported to southern Italy b ...

or with Guardavalle, which is known as Mantonico in the

province of Cosenza The province of Cosenza () is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza. It contains 150 ''comuni'' (: ''comune''), listed at list of ''comuni'' of the province of Cosenza. The province of Cosenza contains ...

in Calabria. In the early 21st century,

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 ...

suggested that Mantonico bianco may be one of the parent varieties of the red Calabrian grape

Gaglioppo Gaglioppo is a red wine grape that is grown in southern Italy, primarily around Calabria. The vine performs well in drought conditions but is susceptible to oidium and peronospora. The grape produces wine that is full-bodied, high in alcohol ...

which is also known as Mantonico nero.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 593-594 Allen Lane 2012 Today Mantonico bianco is used to make both dry

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. ...

and

sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...

passito Straw wine, or raisin wine, is a wine made from grapes that have been dried off the vine to concentrate their juice. Under the classic method, after a careful hand harvest, selected bunches of ripe grapes will be laid out on mats in full sun. ( ...

-style''

dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a mea ...

s under several Calabrian ''

Indicazione geografica tipica ''Indicazione geografica tipica'' () is the third of four classification of wine, classifications of wine recognized by the government of Italy. Created to recognize the unusually high quality of the class of wines known as Italian wine#Super Tus ...

'' (IGT) designations. The grape is also potentially one of the permitted varieties in the ''

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 ...

'' (DOC) wines of

Bivongi Bivongi ( Calabrian: or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria The province of Reggio Calabria () was a province in the Calabria region of Italy. It was the southernmost province in mainland Italy and is separated f ...

and Donnici, however, the regulations for those DOCs do not differentiate between Mantonico bianco and Montonico bianco with the later most often being used in those wines.

History and relationship to other grapes

A Mantonico vine growing in Calabria was documented in the 1601 work of the Italian writer Girolamo Marafioti, who grew up in the commune of

Polistena Polistena (, or ''Polysthénē'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria. Polistena borders the foll ...

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

, then part of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

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 this is the earliest mention of Mantonico bianco and that the grape is probably a native of the district of

Locri Locri is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. Its name derives from that of the ancient Greek region of Locris. Today it is an important administrative and cultural center on the Ion ...

in Reggio Calabria. Over the years, Mantonico bianco has often been confused with other similarly named Calabrian grapes, including Montonico bianco and Guardavalle, which shares the synonym of ''Mantonico'' in the Cozenza province. It was also once thought that the grape was potentially a white-berried

color mutation The propagation of grapevines is an important consideration in commercial viticulture and winemaking. Grapevines, most of which belong to the ''Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native t ...

of one of the several varieties that are known as Mantonico nero, including Gaglioppo. While

DNA analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

has shown that Mantonico bianco is not a color mutation, it has suggested a close relationship between the grape and Gaglioppo, with Mantonico bianco being potentially one of the parent varieties of the red Calabrian grape. Further DNA evidence suggests that Mantonico bianco may also be a parent variety of the Marchione grape of

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

and the Sicilian grape Nerello Mascalese.

Viticulture

Even in the very warm climate of southern Italy, Mantonico bianco is

late ripening In viticulture, ripeness is the completion of the ripening process of wine grapes on the vine which signals the beginning of harvest. What exactly constitutes ripeness will vary depending on what style of wine is being produced ( sparkling, still, ...

and often one of the last varieties to be harvested in a

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 ...

. The grape has strong resistance to many

viticultural hazards 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'' *''Ampe ...

including

downy Downy, also known as Lenor in Europe, Taiwan and Japan, is an American brand of fabric softener produced by Procter & Gamble that was introduced in 1960. Brand history Lenor is a brand name of fabric softener and dryer sheets, also produced by ...

and

powdery mildew Powdery mildew is a fungus, fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of Ascomycota, ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant disea ...

Wine regions

Mantonico bianco is grown almost exclusively in Calabria with most plantings found along Calabria's coastline on

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

, particularly around the seaside communes of

Bianco Bianco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria, in the Italian region of Calabria. It is a seaside town and a popular tourist resort. The main attractions are the remainings of an old abbey and the ruins of a Roman ho ...

and Casignana. Here the grape is used in the production of IGT wines in both dry and passito-style wines either as a varietal or part of a blend. Mantonico bianco can potentially be used in the DOC wines of

in the

Vallata dello Stilaro The Vallata dello Stilaro (the Valley of Stilaro) is a valley in the Province of Reggio Calabria of Southern Italy. It takes its name from river that flow in the area, the Stilaro. The principal settlements present in the valley are Bivongi, ...

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

and Donnici on the

La Sila La Sila, also simply Sila, is the name of the mountainous plateau and historic region located in Calabria, southern Italy. The Sila National Park is known to have the purest air in Europe. Geography The Sila occupies part of the provinces of Co ...

plateau in the province of Cosenza but the DOC regulations do not differentiate Mantonico bianco from Montonico bianco with most producers using only the later variety in those wines.

Styles

According to Master of Wine

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 ...

, Mantonico bianco has the potential to produce dry and sweet wines with a wide range of aroma profiles from floral to herbal to

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

with some examples having "exotic fruit" notes.

Synonyms

Over the years, Mantonico bianco has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Mantonacu, Mantonica vera, Mantonico Maclugnese, Mantonico vero, Mantonicu Pizzutella, Mantonicu vera and Mantonacu Viru della Locride.

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)
Mantonico bianco
'' Accessed: June 11th, 2013

References

{{reflist White wine grape varieties