Lagarino bianco

Did You Know?

• The vine has good resistance to downy and powdery mildew.
• Some plantings are found in the Sugana Valley around Pergine Valsugana.

History

Ampelographers consider Lagarino bianco a very old variety originating in the Trentino's Lagarina Valley, from which its name derives. The same origin has been speculated for the red grape Lagrein, and for many years producers believed the two were related, either as a color mutation or through a parent-offspring relationship. Evidence of a weiss Lagrein (White Lagrein) growing near Bolzano appears in a 1318 document from the Gries-San Quirino district, which specified that producers should set aside some weiss Lagrien for the church and the local poor. Further references to a white Lagrein in South Tyrol appear from the 14th to 16th centuries in Tramin an der Weinstraße, Eppan an der Weinstraße, Schenna, Kaltern an der Weinstraße and Terlan. However, not all ampelographers are convinced these references refer to Lagarino bianco; some speculate that the Jura wine grape Savagnin (known as Traminer in South Tyrol) is more likely the grape mentioned. The connection was further weakened when early 21st-century DNA analysis showed the two varieties are neither color mutations of one another nor have a direct parent-offspring relationship. Lagarino bianco was nearly extinct until viticulturists at IASMA worked to revive it. In 2007, IASMA won approval for the grape to be listed in the official Italian registry, allowing its use in wines labeled under DOC and IGT specifications.