Above: The folks at Ronco del Gnemiz hosted a vertical tasting of Schioppettino — stretching back to to 1989 — for the COF2012 bloggers last week. The township of San Giovanni al Natisone (where their property is located) is not the historical epicenter of the variety. But when current owner Serena’s father bought the estate in the 1950s, there were Schioppettino vines growing there — an indication of its popularity in another era. They still make one botte (large cask) of Schioppettino every year.
Anglophones love to say Schioppettino (here’s the entry for Schioppettino in the Italian Grape Name and Appellation Pronunciation Project). Perhaps it’s because of the variety’s purported onomatopoeic properties: some speculate that the name derives from the fact that the thick-skinned grape pops in the mouth when you bite into it; others believe that commonly encountered secondary fermentation and the resulting fizziness gave rise to its name (an early printed mention — 1823 — of the ampelonym is Scopp, according to Calò et alia).
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whatever the reasons I want to drink one
By: The Blissful Adventurer on April 10, 2012
at 8:14 pm
[...] are producing a portfolio of wonderful wines under the label Toblar. We were able to taste their Schioppettino during dinner with the Specogna family, and then to taste three more of their portfolio later [...]
By: For the Friends: Wonderful Wines with Specogna and Toblar | Hawk Wakawaka Wine Reviews on April 12, 2012
at 8:43 pm
[...] fact, Italian wine history includes the demand for focus on international varieties only into the 1970s wh…. Today, Colli Orientali has a huge focus on the local plants with a great pride in continuing to [...]
By: Red Grape Varieties of Colli Orientali del Friuli: Regional Varietal Characteristics Cards | Hawk Wakawaka Wine Reviews on April 14, 2012
at 1:02 am
[...] those of you that followed along on the #cof2012 trip know, our group was pretty obsessed with the wild berry, slightly saline, earthy, medium-bodied loveliness of Colli Orientali del [...]
By: Beginning Summer Travels, and Hunting Schioppettino | Hawk Wakawaka Wine Reviews on June 11, 2012
at 8:28 pm