Grape Guide
Colorino
RedColorino del Valdarno is a rare black-skinned Tuscan variety grown chiefly as a blending partner for Sangiovese, to which it contributes depth of colour, firm tannin and dark fruit. A small number of estates bottle it alone under Toscana IGT, and its identity is tangled with several other grapes that carry the Colorino name.
Key characteristics
- Pigment-rich skins that give strong colour to blends
- Small, loose clusters of small berries; pale flesh, with the colour held in the skin
- Early budbreak, with ripening at about the same time as Sangiovese or slightly later
- Limited vigour, but very sensitive to powdery mildew
- Not the same vine as Colorino Americano, Colorino di Pisa or Colorino di Lucca, although older plantings can contain a mix of these
Typical flavors
Major regions
Chianti and Chianti Classico (Tuscany) · Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (Tuscany) · Toscana IGT (Tuscany) · Valdarno (Tuscany) · Pisan hills (Tuscany) · Umbria · Marche
Also known as
Colore · Colorino
Colorino del Valdarno is best understood as a Tuscan utility grape: rarely the star, frequently the reason a Sangiovese-based red looks as dark as it does. Its skins carry abundant anthocyanins and its tannins are firm, so a small proportion in the blend, traditionally in the range of 5 to 10 per cent, deepens the colour and adds grip without shifting the flavour profile away from Sangiovese's red cherry.
It became a favoured option in Tuscan cellars during the 1980s and 1990s, when growers wanted a local way to darken blends that might otherwise have turned to Cabernet Sauvignon. Bottled alone, it gives opaque, structured reds with red or black fruit and a savoury, herbal edge. Its name is shared by other grapes, so the label rarely proves which Colorino is in the glass.
The word colorino simply means 'little colour', and Tuscan growers have applied it to any dark-berried vine used to strengthen the colour of a wine. Several unrelated grapes have carried the name, among them Abrusco, Ancellotta and Canaiolo Nero, and molecular work has shown these to have separate DNA profiles.
Tuscany is usually said to have four main Colorino types: Colorino del Valdarno, Colorino Americano, Colorino di Pisa and Colorino di Lucca. Ampelographic and genetic studies indicate that each is a different variety, with Colorino Americano the most distant of the group. Of the four, the Valdarno type has the largest plantings. The Pisa and Lucca types might still be parent and offspring, a possibility that has not been ruled out. In the vineyard, the Valdarno type can be spotted by the reddish tint of its young shoots and leaves.
The relationship with Abrusco remains unsettled. The Italian national register lists Abrusco as its own variety, yet some molecular work has reported that its profile matches that of several Colorino clones, and a three-year comparison of the grapes of Colorino, Abrusco and the related Abrostine, and of wines made from them, found only small differences. The grape is regarded as native to Tuscany and has been proposed to come from the domestication of local wild vines, but no evidence supports that idea. Because the name is generic, older vineyards labelled Colorino may well be mixtures of more than one variety.
Colorino del Valdarno buds fairly early and ripens at about the same time as Sangiovese, or a little later. Vigour is limited, the clusters are small and loose, and the berries are small with dark, pigment-rich skins and pale flesh. Its tolerance of most vine diseases is moderate, but it is very sensitive to powdery mildew, which makes canopy management and timely spraying important, particularly in humid seasons. The loose clusters help airflow and reduce the risk of rot at harvest. Because material sold as Colorino can include other varieties, growers who want the true Valdarno type depend on the source of their cuttings. Italy's 2000 agricultural census recorded 436 hectares (1,077 acres) of Colorino, though it is not known which of the Colorino varieties that figure covers.
The main use is as a minor blending grape in Sangiovese-based reds. It has long been used in Chianti and in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, normally at 5 to 10 per cent, to raise colour and tannin. Chianti Classico requires at least 80 per cent Sangiovese and permits other authorised red grapes, Colorino among them, to make up the rest, with white grapes excluded.
Varietal wines are scarce and are usually released as Toscana IGT. They are dark and tannic, with red or black fruit depending on ripeness, and are typically matured in used French barriques or larger tonneaux for 18 to 24 months. Some producers ferment with wild yeasts in concrete. Rosé and fresh, unoaked styles are uncommon. Because the wines are made in such small volumes, they are chiefly of interest to specialists and to estates exploring Tuscan native varieties.
Where it grows
Chianti and Chianti Classico
The traditional home of the grape as a colour-giving partner for Sangiovese, where it sits alongside Canaiolo Nero among the permitted complementary reds. Planting is recommended across all of Tuscany except two provinces, Livorno and Massa-Carrara.
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Colorino has been used here in small proportions, around 5 to 10 per cent, to reinforce the colour of Sangiovese-led blends.
Toscana IGT (varietal)
La Spinetta bottles Il Colorino di Casanova from the Pisan hills near Terricciola, aged in used barriques. Montenidoli and Piancornello in Montalcino also release 100 per cent Colorino wines, as do a few other small estates.
Valdarno
The area that gives the variety its name and where the type with reddish shoots and leaves is said to be most at home.
Umbria, Marche, Lazio and Liguria
Small plantings are recorded outside Tuscany, generally used to deepen the colour of local red blends.