Before I venture off to the Abruzzo region next week on Vino Travels featuring a variety of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo I wanted to cover a lesser discussed white grape from the Marche region called Passerina. It’s overshadowed somewhat by Verdicchio when it comes to white grapes in the Marche so we’re going to show this grape some love this week.
The Grape – Passerina
Passerina is an ancient native grape found primarily in the Marche region of Central Italy, but is also produced in nearby Abruzzo, Lazio and Emilia Romagna to the north. The name Passerina comes from the Italian word, passero, meaning sparrow from the cardinal family. This grape was named after these birds due to the unfortunate circumstance that these birds love snacking on these grapes. Not so great for the wine growers. The suffix, -ina, means smaller referring to the smaller size of these grapes.
The Passerina grapes have thick skins and lead high sugars in the fruit along with high acidity. They’re a hearty grape that can endure wine growing challenges and they also produce higher yields. They have very floral and fruit driven aromatics and produce wines with ripe citrus fruits along with stone fruits, tropical and some herbal notes. They are dry, clean and fresh that are best enjoyed in their youth. You’ll find the Passerina in the Marche region have a sharper acidity and minerality where those found in Lazio tend to be more rich, ripe and a creamier texture.
The appellation – Offida Passerina
This Article was originally published on Vino Travels Italy