Grape look-alikes

Half the trick questions in Italian wine come down to names. Several unrelated grapes share one, and some grapes go by a different name in every valley. These are the ones worth sorting out before an exam.

The Trebbianos

Trebbiano is a family name worn by several grapes that are barely related. Knowing which one a wine uses tells you a lot about how it will taste.

Trebbiano Toscano: The workhorse. Neutral and high yielding, grown all over central Italy. The same grape as Ugni Blanc in France. Called Procanico in Umbria.
Trebbiano Abruzzese: A different grape, and a much better one in the right hands. Long confused with Bombino Bianco.
Trebbiano di Soave: Also called Turbiana and Trebbiano di Lugana. DNA shows it's the same grape as Verdicchio.
Trebbiano Romagnolo: Romagna's own, mostly for everyday white.
Trebbiano Spoletino: A distinct Umbrian grape, revived around Spoleto and Montefalco, with real character.

Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC may use Trebbiano Abruzzese, Bombino Bianco or Trebbiano Toscano, which is why the wines vary so much.

The Malvasias

Malvasia is an old trading name that covers many grapes. Some are aromatic, some neutral, and some are red.

Malvasia di Candia: Neutral, the base of many Lazio whites. Emilia's aromatic version is a separate grape, Malvasia di Candia Aromatica.
Malvasia del Lazio: Also called Malvasia Puntinata, after the spots on its skin. The better grape for Frascati.
Malvasia Istriana: Friuli's, shared with Slovenia and Croatia across the border.
Malvasia di Lipari: The sweet wine grape of the Aeolian Islands. Calabria's Greco Bianco, of Greco di Bianco, is genetically the same grape.
Malvasia Nera: A red grape, blended with Negroamaro in the Salento.
Malvasia di Schierano: A red too, aromatic and usually sweet, from the hills east of Turin. Malvasia di Casorzo is its neighbour.

When a question says Malvasia, look for a colour, a place or a second word.

The Vernaccias

Vernaccia comes from the Latin for local, so unrelated grapes picked up the name in different places.

Vernaccia di San Gimignano: Tuscany's only white DOCG. Dry, firm and slightly bitter.
Vernaccia di Oristano: Sardinia's, aged under flor like a Sherry.
Vernaccia Nera: A red grape, for the sparkling red of Serrapetrona in the Marche.

One Vernaccia is red, one is Sherry-like, and one is the Tuscan white.

Greco, Grechetto and Greco Bianco

Three grapes with Greek-sounding names, none of them the same as the others.

Greco: The grape of Greco di Tufo in Campania. Firm, with a peachy, almost tannic grip.
Grechetto Gentile: Grechetto di Todi in Umbria. The same grape as Pignoletto around Bologna.
Grechetto di Orvieto: A second, different Grechetto, used in Orvieto.
Greco Bianco: Calabria's, behind the sweet Greco di Bianco, and genetically Malvasia di Lipari.

Greco di Tufo is Campania. Grechetto is Umbria. Pignoletto is Grechetto Gentile.

Montepulciano: grape or town?

One of the most asked trick questions in Italian wine.

Montepulciano: The grape. Abruzzo's red, also grown in the Marche, Molise and Puglia. Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is made from it.
Sangiovese: What Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is made from. Montepulciano is the Tuscan town, and the grape there is Sangiovese, called Prugnolo Gentile.

If the name says d'Abruzzo, it's the grape. If it says di Montepulciano, it's the town and the wine is Sangiovese.

Nebbiolo's other names

Same grape, different valley, different name.

Nebbiolo: Spanna in Alto Piemonte (Gattinara, Ghemme, Boca). Chiavennasca in Valtellina. Picotendro in Carema and the Valle d'Aosta. Prünent in the Val d'Ossola.

Spanna north, Chiavennasca east in Lombardy, Picotendro west toward Aosta.

Sangiovese's other names

Tuscany's grape takes a local name in several of its famous zones.

Sangiovese: Brunello in Montalcino, Prugnolo Gentile in Montepulciano, Morellino in Scansano, and Sangioveto in old Chianti writing.

Brunello, Prugnolo Gentile and Morellino are all Sangiovese.

Grenache by another name

One Mediterranean grape that turns up all over Italy under local names.

Cannonau: Sardinia's name for Grenache, and its most important red.
Cannonau: Called Tai Rosso in the Colli Berici, Gamay del Trasimeno in Umbria, and Alicante in the Maremma. None of these is related to Gamay.

If a name sounds French in an odd place, think Grenache.

Friulano and its names

Friuli's own white, renamed after a trademark dispute.

Friulano: Tocai Friulano until 2007, when the Tocai name went to Hungary's Tokaj. The same grape as Sauvignonasse. Called Tai in the Veneto and Trebbianello around Lake Garda.

Tocai, Tai and Trebbianello are all Friulano.

Bonarda, which Bonarda?

A name that means different grapes on either side of the Piedmont and Lombardy border.

Croatina: What Bonarda dell'Oltrepò Pavese is made from. Also the Bonarda in Gutturnio's blend.
Uva Rara: Sometimes called Bonarda Novarese in Alto Piemonte.

On a Lombard label, Bonarda means Croatina.

The Lambruscos

Lambrusco is a family of separate varieties, each with its own DOC.

Lambrusco di Sorbara: The palest and most delicate, high in acid.
Lambrusco Grasparossa: The darkest and most tannic, from the hills around Castelvetro.
Lambrusco Salamino: In between, named for its sausage-shaped bunch, around Santa Croce.

Sorbara light, Grasparossa dark, Salamino in the middle.

The Moscatos

Moscato is several grapes, white, yellow, pink and red.

Moscato Bianco: The finest, behind Asti and Moscato d'Asti. Called Moscato Reale in Puglia.
Moscato Giallo: Yellow Muscat, sold as Fior d'Arancio in the Colli Euganei.
Zibibbo: Muscat of Alexandria, the grape of Pantelleria.
Moscato di Scanzo: A red Moscato near Bergamo, made as a sweet passito.

Zibibbo is Muscat of Alexandria. Fior d'Arancio is Moscato Giallo.

Grapes known abroad by another name

Worth knowing in both directions.

Primitivo: Genetically Zinfandel, and Croatia's Tribidrag.
Nero d'Avola: Also called Calabrese.
Inzolia: Called Ansonica in Tuscany.
Pinot Grigio: Pinot Gris.

Primitivo and Zinfandel are one grape.