Gragnano
penisola sorrentina dop
Sorrento Peninsula is a popular destination for an international tourism. In very limited areas and in extreme viticulture conditions, a sparkling wine of excellent quality and great tradition is produced; Gragnano. “A small but insurmountable wine” as defined by Mario Saldati.
It is produced by unifying different types of grapes such as Olivella, Sciascinoso, Per’e Palummo (Piedirosso), Aglianico and other varieties grown in the municipalities of the Sorrento Peninsula. Gragnano takes its name from one of the later.
Technical product sheet
Grape variety | Piedirosso, Sciascinoso, Aglianico and other varieties
Production area | Penisola Sorrentina
Soil | sandy
Training system | low arbour
Yield | 80 quintals
Harvest period | first part of October
Harvest | manual
Winemaking
Technical prefermentation | cold prefermentation maceration for a few days
Fermentation | stainless steel
Fermentation temperature | 16°-18° C
Refermentation | autoclave for 30 days
Refining | in bottle
Alcohol content | 11,5%
Organoleptic characteristics
Ruby red color with a tendency towards dark. A vinous and rustic bouquet.
Sparkling with an evanescent foam. It has an aroma and an extremely volatile smoky aftertaste. Slightly sweet.
Despite the color, it should be drunk cold at a temperature of 5-8 degrees.
The Piedirosso is a native Campania vine present in the region since time immemorial and with extensions lower only than Aglianico.
It is known by the dialectal name “Per’ e palummo” which describes a morphological characteristic of the rachis which sees the pedicels of the grains colored red like those of a pigeon’s foot.
The vine is very vigorous, with medium-late ripening in the first 20 days of October.
Yields are average to low, but constant.
It is highly concentrated in sugars with medium acidity. It has medium-large sized, pyramid-shaped and loose bunches. The grains are medium-sized, spherical, with high concentrations of bloom on the thick purplish-red skin.
The vine also thrives on calcareous soils but finds its natural environment in those of volcanic origin in Campania.
Sciascinoso is a black grape variety very present in Campania where it is often confused with Olivella nera due to the elongated shape of the berry which resembles olives.
It is mainly grown in the provinces of Naples and Avellino, but is also present in the rest of the region.
Sciascinoso is a very vigorous vine, which germinates early and is trained on the espalier system. Its maturation is instead late and the ripe grapes have a high acidity and low sugar concentrations, which makes it a blending vine.
Aglianico, of Greek origin, is one of the most important red grape varieties in Campania.
It is also called the Barolo of the South for the richness and depth of its aromas and its adaptability to many types of winemaking.
It prefers soils of volcanic origin, the bunch is compact, cylindrical, with spherical berries with a very pruinose thin skin.
The color is blue and inside the pulp is well endowed with acidity and astringency. It provides excellent constant yields and good resistance to cold and disease, the most used training system is the small tree with short pruning.
