Aleatico

Aleatico
Aleatico
Grape (Vitis)
Color of berry skin	Black
Species	Vitis vinifera
Also called	Red Moscatel and other synonyms
Origin	Italy
Notable regions	Tuscany, Lazio, Chile, New South Wales, California
Notable wines	Aleatico di Portoferraio
VIVC number	259

Aleatico is a red

California.^[1]

History

Ampelographers suspect that Aleatico may be a dark-skinned variant of the French wine grape

ancient Greeks or is native to the southern Italian region of Apulia.^[4]

During the 14th century, the Italian wine writer

Pietro Crescenzi wrote of wine being produced in central Italy from the "Livatica" grape, today believed to be Aleatico. In Elba, there is a long history of producing dessert wines from Aleatico.^[3] During his exile on Elba, the Aleatico wines of the island became a favorite drink of Napoleon.^{[citation needed]} He was reported to have said that they were his only consolation during this time.^[4]

Wine regions

Aleatico is most commonly found in Italy, Tuscany (primarily in Elba), Lazio, Umbria, Piedmont,

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.^[2]

For most of the 20th century, Italian plantings of the grape had been in decline, but recent years have seen a spike of interest in the variety.

passito-style wines made from Aleatico. Under Italy's appellation system, very few dessert wines receive the highest designation of DOCG level, making the Aleatico dell’Elba Passito a rarity in Italy.^[4]

In Piedmont is famous "Novello rosso DOC" produced in Colli Tortonesi.^[5]

In Lazio, Aleatico is found around

Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone DOC.^[7] In Apulia the Aleatico di Puglia DOC exists for this grape.^[3]

Wine styles

Aleatico is often used to produce dessert wines. The grapes may be

wood barrels.^[4]

Aleatico wines are characterized by the

grape's acidity.^[4]

Synonyms and mutations

In Chile, the grape is known as Red Moscatel.[1] Rare synonyms include Livatica, Leatico and Agliano.^[3] A white mutation known as Aleatico Bianco exists but is infrequently cultivated.^[2]