Grape varieties

The “Registro Nazionale delle Varietà di Vite” – the national grape variety registry – currently lists exactly 644 grape varieties, though the actual number is likely much higher. Winemakers regularly tell us about previously unidentified grape varieties they’ve found in old vineyards—varieties that occasionally, often in tiny amounts, find their way into their wines.
There are several reasons for this incredible variety: one of the most important is, of course, the fact that Italy’s wine culture stretches back around 2,500 years. The Phoenicians in Sardinia—and especially the ancient Greeks in southern Italy—planted large numbers of grape varieties, laying the foundation for the vast range of grapes that can still be found in Italian vineyards today.
Other contributing factors include the long-standing isolation of many regions and Italy’s political fragmentation up until 1861—the year of Italian unification—which allowed a wide variety of grape types to spread, often limited to very small, localized areas.
Additionally, from north to south—from South Tyrol to southern Sicily—Italy offers, despite its diversity, consistently ideal conditions for growing vines. Aside from the high alpine zones, there are virtually no topographical or geographical areas where grapevines haven’t been cultivated and wine hasn’t been made for centuries.
Local traditions and the often centuries-deep understanding of a variety’s characteristics and its role in the regional ecosystem are also crucial factors. The preservation of indigenous grape varieties has always had a social dimension as well: they have been—and still are—an integral part and authentic expression of regional cultures, often deeply connected to the identity of the people who grow them.
Ian d’Agata, one of Italy’s most eloquent grape variety researchers and author of the highly recommended book *Native Wine Grapes of Italy*, once compared the exploration of wine to an ongoing journey. Indigenous varieties, he said, are like hidden monuments in quiet alleyways, or the small, forgotten coves on overcrowded islands. To discover them, one must sometimes summon a little courage and step off the beaten path.
But once you’ve found them, he concluded, you’ll always come back to them.