Uva Rara 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 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

Lombardy wine Lombardy wine is the Italian wine produced in the Lombardy region of north central Italy. The region is known particularly for its sparkling wines made in the Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese areas. Lombardy also produces still red, white and ros ...

regions of northern Italy. The grape is a permitted blending variety along 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 the ''

Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita 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 ...

'' (DOCG) wines of

Ghemme Ghemme is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located on the river Sesia about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara. It is the birthplace of architect Alessandro Antonelli and the ...

. In the ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' (DOC) wine region of

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 ...

the grape 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 ...

and

Croatina Croatina is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Oltrepò Pavese region of Lombardy and in the Province of Piacenza within Emilia Romagna, but also in parts of Piedmont and the Veneto. In the Oltrepò Pavese, in the hil ...

. While Uva Rara's name means "rare grape" in

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 ...

, the variety is actually widely planted with 608

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s (1,502 acres) of the vine recorded in Italy in 2000.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pg 1105 Allen Lane 2012

History and relationship to other grapes

Uva Rara has a long history of being grown in the Piedmont and Lombardy region, particularly in the provinces of

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

Asti Asti ( , ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 74,348 inhabitants (1–1–2021) located in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, about east of Turin, in the plain of the Tanaro, Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and ...

Biella Biella (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the northern Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the Province of Biella, province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of ...

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

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 ...

Vercelli Vercelli (; ) is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC. ...

and

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

. Here the grape has been historically used as a blending grape, with Nebbiolo in Piedmont and with Barbera and Croatina in Lombardy. Uva Rara is often confused with the

Gattinara Gattinara () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about north of Vercelli. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 8,506 and an area of ...

and Oltrepò Pavese grape

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 ...

that is also known as ''Uva Rara'', which means "rare grape" in Italian. Around the communes of

and

, Uva Rara is known as ''Bonarda'' which has led it to be confused with many of the other grape varieties known as Bonarda, particularly Bonarda Piemontese. However, despite the similarities of synonyms and use in many of the same wines, there is no known relationship between Uva Rara and these other grape varieties.

Viticulture

Uva Rara is a mid to late-ripening grape variety. Among the

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 ...

that the vine is most susceptible to includes the fungal infection of

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 ...

and

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 ...

which can lead to the malformation of grape berries if the weather is unfavourable during

flowering Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

Wine regions

In 2000, there were 608 hectares (1,502 acres) of Uva Rara planted throughout Italy with the vast majority in the Piedmont and Lombardy regions. Here the grape is a permitted blending variety in several DOCs and can be made as 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. ...

in the Colline Novaresi DOC. In the Oltrepò Pavese and San Colombano al Lambro DOC, Uva Rara is usually blended with Croatina and Barbera while in the Boca, Fara, Coste della Sesia DOC and Sizzano DOCs, it plays a secondary role to Nebbiolo. It is also permitted in the DOCG wine of Ghemme where it plays a similar role in softening the Nebbiolo-based wines of the region.

Styles

While Uva Rara is primarily a blending grape, adding softness and fruit to the wines, it can also be made into a varietal. 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 ...

, varietal styles of Uva Rara tend to be soft, medium bodied with a very perfumed bouquet but the potential to have a bitter finish.

Synonyms

Over the years Uva Rara has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Balsamea, Balsamina, Balsamina , Bonarda, Bonarda di Cavaglia, Bonarda di Gattinara, Bonarda Novarese, Foglia Lucente, Martellana, Oriana, Orianella, Oriola, Raione, Rairon, Raplum, Raplun and Rara.

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)
Uva Rara
' Accessed: April 27th, 2013

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties