Ep. 278 -ENGLISH- VIA Chief Scientist Attilio Scienza on Cannonau

Italian wine podcast. Chincin with Italian wine people. This podcast is brought to you by Native Grape Odyssey, an educational project financed by the European Union to promote European wine in Canada, Japan, and Russia. Enjoy. It's from Europe. Find out more at native grape Odyssey dot com. Native grape Odyssey, Europe, quality wine. Hello, and welcome back to the Italian wine podcast. We're happy to have with us again today, Professor Atilio Shenza, the highest Italian authority on Vine Genetics and Chief Scientist of the Ven Italy International Academy. Now I'll take the opportunity to remind our listeners that our discussions with Professor Shenza are recorded first in Italian and then rerecorded in English language for our international audience. Both versions of this episode are available on our official website or wherever you find your podcasts. We'll also post transcripts of our interview in both languages on our website. Should they prove helpful to your studies? As always, all of our Professor Shenze episodes are intended as a learning tool for those wishing to grow their knowledge of Italian wines and their production. And these recordings are grouped into the series Italian wine essentials. Hello, Professor Shencer, and welcome back to the Italian wine podcast. On the Docket today, we have the peerless Canal. Can you please tell us where exactly this fine is cultivated and what are some of its many names? Good morning to our listeners and welcome back Monty. Today, we're going to talk about a grapevine of considerable importance to the Viticulture of the Western Mediterranean to Spain, to France, to Italy, and above all to Sardinia. This is certainly a vine that unites the populations of this part of Europe. A vine that has marked some very important stages in the history of Viticulture, as well as relations between Sardinia and Spain. We're talking about one of the most widespread grapes in the world, probably ranking second or third in terms of cultivation. That, like all of the very old grapes, goes by many names that derive from the way it is cultivated in distant lands. In recent years, DNA analyses have uncovered some notable facts regarding this cultivated variety and its synonyms. In fact, it goes by the name of Kananau in Sardinia, Grenash in southern France, garnacha or Alecanti in Nevada and Larrioca, Tocaurosa, near Vicenza, in Italy, and forced Game around Lago di Transimeno. Would you describe Canada now as a variety originating in Italy, in France, or in Spain? The origin of this grape has been the subject of much debate. We can find its first references in Sardinia around the middle of the thirteen hundreds. Then it is also mentioned in early sixteen hundreds in Spain nearly three hundred years later. What's clear is that this grape's origins are still not so well defined. Still, due to its characteristic, it has occupied many of the important grape growing zones of the Western Mediterranean. The name Grenash probably comes from the place of the wine's production, as in the case of Malazir. While the latter gets its name from a small Greek port Monabasos, Gwynash derives from Venacha or a bastardization of the name, Vanessa. From this port, part of the Chincuero, the Republic of Genoa shipped wine to markets in Northern Europe. The oldest reference we can find, Vine de Venacha de la dates from thirteen o six and describes this wine leaving this port in the ligurian sea for foreign lands. However, another hypothesis links this grape's name to Spain and specifically the term Gan Natcha. Meaning toga, in Catalan, Garmnaccia, was a royal garment used by the king of Spain that shared its color, purple, with the wine produced from this vine. We can find many examples of references to the presence of this wine in Italy. More so than we find regarding the plant itself. The first reference in Spanish we find is the term Guarnaca used by Savantas in sixteen thirteen. A bit before Savantas used this name in his writings we find important records of a wine, Canal, shipped in sixteen twelve from Sardinia to King Philip of Spain, as the king absolutely had to experience the wine's quality for himself given its notoriety. How do we recognize canon now? What are some of its demographic characteristics? As I mentioned previously, the widespread diffusion of this vine led to the appearance of many synonyms. In Spain alone, it is called Greneda tintan menuda, Aragonas, and Ladona, meaning little grape. And this vine is very easy to recognize because it has some very particular, very clear, ampelegraphic characteristics. The upright shoots, the erect habit of the plant, identify its cultivation in a form known as albirello or little tree. That is without supports. Only vines that grow with an upright habit are suitable for the albirello form of evasion without wires. And Grenash is ideal for this. We commonly find this variety in hot dry lands. It resists drought well and even expresses its pest qualities nearly exclusively in very hot climates. Another element that makes canon now easily recognizable includes its leaves. They are nearly whole, almost circular. They are also shiny, an important characteristic for plants that are able to survive in hot, dry climate. Not only vines, but other Mediterranean plants as well. Such plants termed zera morphic use their shiny waxy leaves to reflect light and avoid compromising the activity of their stomata. What's more the underside of the leaves have no hair, they are completely smooth. This is a very uncommon quality. The spread of green ash has also given rise to grapes of varying color. In fact, we find it in black, naturally the most common, but also grey, rose, purple called cielo Rosa in Spain, and of course white. Thus, there really are many morphological forms of this variety, and they are used to produce many different types of wine. How is it that we've come to call this plant and its associate wines canna now? We may also like to explore the origin of the term canna now. There are two primary hypotheses. The first involves the Sardinean term cannaone, an instrument used in analogical practices, while the second aligns with the name with the Greek term, canoniso, canoniso is a type of reference to value. An important coin in Greece was called canoniso. Hence, this wine, a obtained from this grape was considered a high quality wine because it could be exchanged for its value. Some mercantile documents from the fifteen hundreds called the wine vermele because of its closeness to catalan culture, and it was commonly associated with the description as Caitllano, meaning vine raised a la catalana without its supports. So it was a Spanish technique common in northern Sardinia that imprinted on this vine the place of its origin. I'd say there are other parts of Italy where this grape is cultivated, though with less importance compared to Sardinia. For example, the area around Vicenza, the vine is called Tocairoso, and it would appear its arrival was due to the actions of some bishops involved in the Pope's exile to Avignon in the thirteenth century. Returning home, these bishops from the Veneto reason brought with them a vine that came to be called Tokai Russell. And what are the ideal growing conditions for the vine? Cannonau is certainly a widespread variety in the hot parts of the world. Particularly in Spain where it is one of the most important vines in terms of quality and quantity because it handles extreme climates well, very dry, very windy, and because it produces a sweet grape full of sugars, One must play close attention, however, because the vine is very productive. And left to its own devices, it tends to produce wines that are easily oxidized. It can give rise to wines that are somewhat yellowed In general, Canada now is not vinified alone. It is not vinified alone in Spain, and it is not vinified alone in France. Other varieties are added to mitigate its oxidative tendencies. For example, in Spain, like Carignena is used, while the French used Sierra or Muvedge to give more stable colors and softer tannins. This also allows a wine with a longer shelf life. This vine is now more important than ever in the world due to climate change. As particular growing regions experience less and less precipitation, coupled with higher and higher temperatures. We'll rely ever more heavily on this fine that expresses itself better than other varieties that require cooler environments. Environments that unfortunately no longer exist in some regions. What are the characteristics of the wine produced with canna now? And what are some suggestions for food and wine pairings with this grape? It's important that we make a connection between this vine or or rocky soils and the upright albirello style or at least a compact form of training. We can say the wine itself shows a degree of plasticity in its gastronomic use, thanks to diversity and wine making techniques. The pink and rose forms of green ash are much appreciated and combine well with Mediterranean style fish plates that include tomato or that are prepared as fish soup or otherwise using spices. The more complex forms with greater structure pair well with meats. Again, meats cooked over a grill prepared for consumption in hot environments or otherwise using a Mediterranean style. Meanwhile, high alcohol wines or those that are fortified can accompany sweet or spicy cheeses. Thus, cana now is a very versatile grape that has spawned many diverse wines, each with a characteristic Mediterranean fingerprint. As such, it is much loved in the United States. Especially in the warmer or more southerly parts of California. It is used to make Mediterranean style wines. With climate conditions that tend towards higher average worldwide temperatures, we increasingly live a more and more Mediterranean experience in the kitchen through our interactions with environment, making this wine a perfect candidate to accompany our lives in the coming years. Very interesting. Thank you, professor Shenza. It would seem this calendar now. Is certainly very important to the Mediterranean region, and it may have an even greater importance worldwide as our climate changes. It's always a pleasure to have you here with us, and I look forward to next time. I've been our listeners goodbye at the end this presentation in the hope that we'll soon get the chance to describe other great varieties. Good day. Listen to all of our pods on Sound Cloud iTunes, iTunes, Spotify, HimalayaFM, and on Italian Mind Podcast, dot com. Don't forget to send your tweets to at itaewine podcast.