Ep. 1952 Nerello Cappuccio, Nerello Mascalese, Nosiola by Brie Dema | Italian Grape Geek

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So Norella Capucchio is found mostly in South Eastern Sicily, specifically in the DOCs of Mount Aetna and the nearby region of Faro, which is a little bit more on the coast. It can also be found in Calabria. There was an interesting study done in two thousand and ten that analyzed the cuttings from vineyard plantings in Eastern Sicily that showed that over sixty percent of the samples were not, in fact, Norello Capucchio. Many of them were Carignan and some were other varieties. This leads us to ask how much Norello Capucchio is actually present in the vineyards of such areas today. Norello Capuchillo's main use is as a minority blending partner for Norello Moscolesi, and I'll discuss why that is. In terms of how Norello Capuchillo behaves in the vineyard, it is an early budding variety. And provided that the spring weather is good, it doesn't tend to have as many viticultural challenges as Norello Masca Leze. It does tend to be an early reichner. The name Capucchio, it refers to the vines bushy canopy, which resembles a cap. It has dark berries that have a good concentration of anthocyanins, which also known as the molecules responsible for the pigmentation in fruit. This deep stable color is one of the reasons that producers tend to appreciate it. In my lifetime, I've only tried two mono varietal versions of Norello Capuccio. They were both lovely. The wine should be deeply hewed ruby with aromas of ripe red fruit, even dark fruit, and sweet fice like vanilla or cocoa. The tannins can be quite rustic in texture. The acidity tends to be medium or medium plus along with the alcohol. It is mainly seen as a blend as it is the perfect companion to a Norello Mescalese. It is easy to see why these two grapes are successful together as each offers with the other lacks. This blend dominated by Norella Masaleza is the composition for the popular Aetna DSE. The contribution to this blend of Norella Capuccio is for predominantly color and body. And because of its regular fruit profile, it does add some complexity to the aromas and flavors of the finished wine as well. So in terms of its significance, it may never take this under stage, but Norella Capuccio is capable of making quality wine. There are important growers and producers such as Salva Fati and Banati who do champion the grape. And with those kinds of cheerleaders, we may see more support for it in the future. As I mentioned, I've only tried a few examples of pure Norella Capucchio wines, They reminded me both of Merlo in a way to give you a comparison that might be more familiar. The fruit profile of Riper, it has chocolaty tones and a softer structure. One of those examples did have seven years of bottle age to it, and it was really quite interesting. Still with a good structure and with, growing remarkable complexity as well. In terms of seeing Norella Capucchio wines in our market, we do see a few producers that work with the grape, though I speculate the way we would more encounter it would be as the minority partner in the blends of Edna Dio which are quite popular in my market. In terms of producers that you should seek out, look for Benanti as one of the top, as well as Calabreta comes to mind. Bananti specifically sources fruit for their Norello Capuccio bad from a vineyard that had been cultivated thanks to Salvopati. So we should give a credit for that as well. In terms of how I would enjoy Norella Capucchio as a food and wine pairing, what comes to mind would be a richer dish like braised meat, such as Vasabuco, which is a veal shank dish that originates from the north from Lombardi. In general, I would on the side of a simple comforting cold weather dish like a braise or a roast to complement the wine. Okay. Hello, Bree here. I'm here to speak to you about Italy's famous grape, Norello Mascaise. Norello Mascaise has in its name, a reference to its origins. The Muscali area and town near the port city of Catania and northeastern Sicily. It is the main black grape in the region of Aetna, DOT, which are the vineyards that lie on the southern, east, and northern mid slopes of the active Aetna volcano. It can also be found in the nearby coastal region of Faro. It also grows in calabria in areas such as La Maizia, but in terms of its origins, it does have close genetic relationships with San Giovanni Bianco and possibly the local White grape Carrie Kante as well. In terms of the characteristics in the vineyard, Norello Mascoleze is both vigorous and productive. So yields and canopy must be properly managed. It is also quite sensitive to weather threats like humidity, which can cause mold and rot. In fact, twenty twenty three was one of its most challenging vintages, like elsewhere in Italy, the humidity and ring were devastating for it, and for those who grow it. Given these challenges, it is not easy to work with, but it is particularly prized because It is such a great translator, especially of good vintages and good tear water. Much like Nebula or Peno noir. The best sites for it tend to be on the east and north facing slopes of Aetna, and the Aetna region itself is divided into hundred and forty two crews or contrada, much like how burgundy is divided. The nuanced terror of these crews are dictated by the soils, all volcanic based, but of different ages and what degrees of weathering. As well as with many varied aspects of slopes within the region. In terms of characteristics in the glass, I'll speak to Eneroso, which is required to be eighty percent Norello Maskaleise with its typical blending partner of Norello Capuccio. Here, Norello Masca laissez gives a pale ruby colored wine when at its very best, has complex aromas of red fruits like cherry, tobacco, tea, herbs, spices, and minerals. It's bouquet becomes more complex with bottle age. It's structure has elevated acidity, medium to high levels of tannin and alcohol. Norellecoccio is used in this blend to soften up the structure and to deepen the color of the wine. There is also Aetna Rosatto made, which is a lovely pale refreshing rose made from again at least eighty percent, Norella Maskelese. And recently, the DOC has permitted spumante or sparkling versions of the wine made from the same varietal composition. Both the Rosado and the sparkling, our style site suggest you seek out. In terms of its significance, the Aetna DOC, which is intrinsically tied to Norello Maskalese has grown immensely in popularity over the last ten to twenty years. So much though that lots of investors have come to buy up the land. It's wines are seen on many wine lists and cities across the world. The popularity has also seen the prices of the top bottlings increase, much like the wines from Barolo or Chianti Glasgow. And this positions Aetna DOC among the elite wine regions of Italy. In terms of my personal connection with the grape, I do encounter it often in Ontario. Of course, my restaurant group lists many Aetna wines because the small a's are all fans, and they are excited to share the wines with the guests. The Rosos can be incredibly compelling, complex and long lived, and often are still less expensive than of other red wines that we would describe as such. I love the fresh Rosado versions, which are on the savory mineral side of Rosay and are very food friendly. I've had the pleasure to taste some examples of sparkling Aetna last year while in the region, and I'm looking forward to seeing this style in Ontario. In my travels, I have seen the wines from NNA GOC on wine lists in many cities such as Copenhagen and New York and all across Canada as well. In terms of benchmark producers, I would absolutely recommend seeking out Bananti, Salvopati, Tori Mora, and Tonita Delaterinari, as well as Paso Piscario. But honestly, the list of good and great producers is long and growing longer alt time. For food pairings, I would try the risotto with fresh seafood such as octopus and prawns or the delicious vegetable dish caponata, which has, eggplant cooked with olives and capers. Both the seafood and the caponata have really nice briny savory notes that would be complimented by the minerality in the Rosado wines. At Narasso often takes center stage as the main character in a pairing situation. It's not shy. The wines are often quite complex. So to choose a dish to go with it, I would choose a less complex partner like spaghetti and tomato sauce or braised meat. I think it would be a nice balance. Okay. Hello. It's Bree here back to talk to you about another Italian wine grape. This time, we'll be discussing Nociola. Nociola is a white grape grown mostly in Tarantino in the north, but also in the Veneto and in Lombardi near the shores of Lake Garda. In terms of its origin, it has a close genetic relationship to the grape res, which is found in Switzerland, and reds being earlier documented, we can assume that the rest grape is the parent grape of the two. The name Nocciola is derived from hazelnut, and it could refer to the color or appearance of the berries, or it could also be a nod to the aromatic properties that are found in the finished wines. In terms of the characteristics in the vineyard of Nociola, one attribute, which is more notable in one of its clones rather than the other two, is the fact that it has a loosely packed bunch, which really allows for making the late harvest vinylsanto sweet wines. That are famous from Trentino. In general, Notreola has medium sized berries. It's fairly zoo resistant, and one of its biggest bitter cultural challenges is spring frost, given that it can bite quite early. In terms of the characteristics of North Zulu in the glass, as a dry wine, it's really delicate. It has citrusy notes, flavors of hazelnut, and often a light floral tone, with a really focused palette with nice fresh acidity, salinity, and minerality. It really excels in the sweet wine, Zeno, which is made from leg harvest and air dried versions of the grape that can be dried for as long as six months, which results in a very rich, intense, honey, tropical sweet wine balanced with nice freshness. In terms of my personal connection with the grape, I'm mostly familiar with the grape through studies as only one or two producers are available on the Canadian market. I really, really loved the Vincent versions, which I've tried during the Italy trade show. They are complex, exotic, balanced wines that would make for a wonderful end to a meal. Producers, we do see in the Ontario market. We do have the wines of Foradori that are sometimes accessible and on occasions others, but it really truly is underrepresented in the Canadian market. Producers that I would recommend to seek out are Giuseppe Fanti and Gino Padrati. As well as Poradore, though the wines of Poradore skew on the natural side and do represent a specific personality of the grape. In terms of food and wine pairings as a dry wine, I would really love to enjoy Nocceola with a plate of spec which is secured well seasoned pork. However, if you have a Trentino, Veno, this would be really great with a local cake called Zelton cake, which is, made with figs, raisins, and nuts. Listen to the Italian wine podcast wherever you get your podcasts. We're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, email ifm, and more. Don't forget to subscribe and break the show. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italian wine podcast dot com. 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