Vino novello, Italian for '

new wine New Wine is a not-for-profit Christian charismatic evangelical organisation based in England, United Kingdom. It equips Christian churches and leaders in spiritual renewal, worship and church planting. Overview The purpose of New Wine is "loc ...

', is a light, fruity, red

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

produced throughout

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Novello is similar to its French cousin

Beaujolais nouveau Beaujolais nouveau ( , ) is a red wine made from Gamay grapes produced in the Beaujolais region of France. It is a '' vin de primeur'', fermented just a few weeks before being released for sale on the third Thursday of November. Distributors co ...

in taste, body and

color Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...

, but is produced using several grape varieties with a more liberal

fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...

process. While historically released for sale on November 6, Novello is since 2012 available on 30 October.

Style

Vino novello is lightweight with low

alcohol content Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of Alcohol (drug), alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest ...

(usually not more than 11%) and a light aroma. Novello's literal Italian translation means 'young wine,' but it is also "the wine to be drunk young". What Vino novello does not have is

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 ...

. In some places in Italy, tradition says the last day to consume it is “''I Giorni della Merla''”, the days of the blackbird, said to be the coldest day of the year (29–31 January).

Production

Vino novello is made from a different process to normal red wines. Novello is the result of a different procedure of processing the grapes,

carbonic maceration Carbonic maceration is a winemaking technique, often associated with the French wine region of Beaujolais, in which whole grapes are fermented in a carbon dioxide rich environment before crushing. Conventional alcoholic fermentation involves cru ...

, which involves accelerating the fermentation process. This method was developed in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the 1930s. The grapes are placed in large barrels or vats. They are then closed off and air is eliminated by pumping in CO₂. The natural

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

migrate from the skin of the grapes into the pulp, looking for water and oxygen, and the fermentation takes place. The fermentation process lasts about 20 days.

The whole bunches are placed within a designated tubs, in which after producing a vacuum of air is blown CO₂ at 30 degrees Celsius for 7–14 days. The clusters that are located on the bottom of the tanks are crushed by the mass of grapes and release the juice. Yeasts indigenous to the pulp from the peel migrate in search of oxygen and water, triggering a process of intracellular fermentation. At the end of the cycle, the 'red wine' is slightly crushed and further fermented for 3-4 days. The minimum alcohol content is 11%, the deadline for bottling is 31 December of the same vintage year.

Italy will produce approximately 9 million bottles of Vino novello in 2009, some 4% down over 2008, with 236 vineyards making the wine compared to 246 in 2008. Over 400 vineyards were producing Vino novello in 2004 after its popularity peaked. Almost half of Novello production comes from the northern

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 ...

region. It is followed by

Trentino Trentino (), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento (; ; ), is an Autonomous province#Italy, autonomous province of Italy in the Northern Italy, country's far north. Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the Regions of Italy, region of Tren ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

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 ...

Puglia 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

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

. Common

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species, including those unimportant to agriculture, see ''V ...

used in production of Vino novello are:

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 ...

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

Canaiolo Canaiolo (), also called Canaiolo nero or Uva Canina, is a red Italian wine grape grown through Central Italy but is most noted in Tuscany. Other regions with plantings of Canaiolo include Lazio, Marche and Sardegna. In Umbria a white berrie ...

Ciliegiolo Ciliegiolo is a variety of red wine grape from Italy, named after the Italian for 'cherry'. It is a minor component of traditional blends such as Chianti, but interest has revived in recent years. In Umbria it is made into a light quaffing wine ...

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 ...

, Grignolino,

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

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 ...

Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

Refosco Refosco is a very old family of dark-skinned grape varieties native to the Venetian zone and neighbouring areas of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Gavi, Trentino, Istria, and Karst Plateau.

Sangiovese Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin , "blood of Jove, Jupiter". Sangiovese Grosso, used for traditionally powerful and slow maturing red wines, is primarily grown in the central regions of Italy ...

and

Teroldego Teroldego (, ) is a red Italian grape variety grown primarily in the northeastern region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy. Description Wine has been produced since ancient times in Campo Rotaliano, an alluvial plain between the rivers Adi ...

. Profits are expected to reach a value of more than 40 million euro (about $60 million) for 2009.

History

The birth of 'young wine' comes from the Beaujolais wine region, a southern area of

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

. A novel wine making technique was developed by a Frenchman, M. Flanzy, in the 1930s. The main difference in making Vino novello wines is that the grapes are not crushed but are fermented using whole grapes, allowing for only a minimum percentage of sugar to be converted into alcohol, ensuring the wine has a smooth, fruity flavor. Italy first started making Vino novello in the 1970s. The first producers were Angelo Gaja (Vinot) and Marchesi Antinori (S. Giocondo). Vino novello was officially recognized in Italy in 1987.

Beaujolais nouveau vs. Vino novello

The two wines are very similar, but there are significant differences. *Beaujolais nouveau is released on the third Thursday of November *Vino novello is marketed on October 30 *Beaujolais nouveau is produced from a single grape variety: Gamay *Italy uses over 60 varieties, of which seven are international. Merlot is the most used (17%), 42 are single-variety. *The harvest in Beaujolais is strictly manual; grapes must be picked by hand only. *Italy authorizes mechanical means to pick grapes. *For Beaujolais nouveau, 100% carbonic maceration must be used *A minimum of 30% carbonic maceration is common for Vino novello. Not all producers restrict the carbonic maceration to 30%, but it should be clearly explained in the label. *France produces about 65 million bottles of Beaujolais (2004) *Italy produces about 17 million bottles of Vino novello of various types (2004)

References

http://www.vinostore.it/argomese/set01.php

External links