Catarratto
Sicily's most planted white grape, with glossy and bloomed variants.
Catarratto is a white Italian wine grape planted primarily in Sicily, where it is the most widely planted grape. It can produce full-bodied wines with lemon notes. In the Etna DOC, the grape is often blended with Minella bianca and Carricante.
Quick Facts
- Species
- Vitis vinifera
- Also called
- Catarratto Bianco Comune
- Catarratto Bianco Lucido
- Catarratto Bianco Extra Lucido
- and other synonyms
- Origin
- Italy
- Regions
- Sicily
- Wines
- Salaparuta DOC
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- An Italian study from 2008 using DNA typing showed a close genetic relationship between Garganega and Catarratto.
- It is possible that Garganega is one of the parents of Catarratto, but the exact relationship could not be conclusively established because Garganega's own parents have not been identified.
Subvarieties and phenotypes
Catarratto exists in different phenotypes characterised by varying pruinosity, or the amount of whitish bloom on the berries. Catarratto Bianco Comune has a high amount of bloom, while Catarratto Bianco Lucido has limited bloom and a more glossy appearance. The Ampelographic Commission of Palermo first described this distinction in 1883, assigning the names. Although registered as two separate varieties, DNA typing has shown them to be genetically identical, the result of massal selection from vines propagated vegetatively from the same original seedling. A third phenotype, Catarratto Bianco Extra Lucido, completely lacking bloom, was selected by B. Pastena in 1971 from Catarratto Bianco Lucido vines and was also confirmed genetically identical.
More in White Wine Grape Varieties from Italy
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