Plassa (also known as Scarlattino) 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 in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy where it was once historically used as a

table grape Table grapes are grapes intended for consumption as fresh fruit, as opposed to grapes grown for wine production, Juicing, juice production, jelly and jam making, or for drying into raisins. ''Vitis vinifera'' table grapes can be in the form of e ...

but now is almost always used for winemaking. Here the grape is most often used as a minor blending component adding

tannins Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widely applied to any large po ...

to wines made from

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 ...

, Neretta Cuneese, Grisa nera and Chatus.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pg 833 Allen Lane 2012

History

The name ''Plassa'' is derived from the word ''pellaccia'' which in the local Piedmontese dialect means "hard skin" and is a reference to the very thick grape skins of Plassa berries. Ampelographers believe that the grape is native to Piedmont region where it has been historically associated with the communes of Bibiana, Bricherasio, Campiglione-Fenile,

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 ...

and San Secondo di Pinerolo 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 ...

. The thick skin of Plassa allowed the grape to stay fresh after

harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

, making it prized as a table grape, but over time it is used as a table grape wine and now its use is solely for wine production.

Viticulture

Plassa is a mid to late ripening variety that can be very vigorous producing large foliage which may require

canopy management In viticulture, the canopy of a grapevine includes the parts of the vine visible aboveground - the trunk, cordon, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruit. The canopy plays a key role in light energy capture via photosynthesis, water use as regulated ...

to keep in check. The variety gets its name, ''Scarlattino'', from the bright red color that the

plant stem A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaf, leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, engages ...

s develop during the

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 ...

. While Plassa has good resistance to most fungal diseases, such as downy 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 ...

, due to its very thick skins it is susceptible to the viticultural hazard of

millerandage Millerandage (or shot berries, hens and chicks and pumpkins and peas) is a potential viticultural hazard in which grape bunches contain berries that differ greatly in size and, most importantly, maturity. Its most common cause is cold, rainy or o ...

and to infection from European grapevine moths.

Wine regions

In 2000, there were of Plassa in Italy, almost exclusively found in the province of Turin in the Piedmont wine region where its grown along the

Susa Valley The Susa Valley (; ; ; ; ) is a valley in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont region of northern Italy, located between the Graian Alps in the north and the Cottian Alps in the south. It is one of the longest valleys of the Italian Alps. ...

and around the communes of Bibiana, Bricherassio, Campiglione-Fenile, Cumiana, Frossasco and Pinerolo. Here the grape is primarily used as a blending component, adding tannins to wines made from Barbera, Neretta Cuneese, Grisa nera, and Chatus.

Synonyms

Over the years, Plassa has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Cheur dur, Cuor Duro, Palessa, Pelasina, Pelassa, Pellaccia, Pellacia, Scarlattin, Scarlattino, and Scarlattino Plassa.

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)
Plassa
' Accessed: June 2nd, 2013

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties