Cascarolo bianco
An old Piedmontese white grape with a disputed past.
Cascarolo bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety primarily grown in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy. It has a long history in the area, noted in 1606 by Giovanni Battista Croce as growing in the hills around Turin and producing wine of high esteem. The grape was once thought to be the same as the Hungarian Fehér Gohér, but DNA profiling in the early 21st century determined they are unrelated.
Quick Facts
- First recorded mention
- 1606
- Region
- Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy
- Parent grape
- Rèze (Swiss wine grape)
- Possible relative
- Erbaluce
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- For many centuries Cascarolo bianco was widely planted throughout Piedmont, particularly around Chieri, Pinerolo, Casale Monferrato, and Moncalvo.
- Today the grape has very limited plantings and is found mostly in field blends from older vineyards in the foothills of the Alps.
History and relationship to other grapes
Cascarolo bianco is an ancient grape variety that has been cultivated in Piedmont, northwest Italy, for many generations. Its wines were once held in high regard, and those produced in Turin were noted by Giovanni Battista Croce in 1606. Genetic testing indicates that the grape is probably a descendant of the Swiss variety Rèze, with a second, unidentified parent. This unknown parent could be the Piedmontese grape Erbaluce, as DNA analysis reveals a close connection between the two, though the precise link remains unclear. In 1887, the German ampelographer Hermann Goethe proposed that Cascarolo bianco was identical to the Hungarian grape Fehér Gohér, also called Augster Weisser. However, modern DNA evidence confirms that these two varieties are not related.
More in White Wine Grape Varieties from Italy
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced