Grape Guide
Nerello Cappuccio
RedNerello Cappuccio is a black-skinned variety of Sicily and Calabria, best known as the junior partner to Nerello Mascalese in Etna's red blends. It ripens a little earlier and gives softer, less defined wines than Mascalese, so it is rarely bottled alone, and old vineyards often hold several genetically distinct vines under the one name.
Key characteristics
- Black-skinned and vigorous; the clusters are tightly packed and carry berries of middling size
- Mid-ripening, slightly ahead of Nerello Mascalese; Etna harvests typically fall in early to mid October
- Softer tannin and less precision than Mascalese in most accounts
- Etna DOC red and rosé allow up to 20% in the blend, with Mascalese at 80% or more
- Vineyards labelled Cappuccio are often field blends that include other, unidentified varieties
Typical flavors
Major regions
Etna DOC (Sicily) · Faro DOC (Messina, Sicily) · Sicilia DOC · Sant'Anna di Isola Capo Rizzuto DOC (Calabria) · Savuto DOC (Calabria) · Lamezia DOC (Calabria)
Also known as
Nerello Mantellato · Mantiddatu Niuru · Niureddu · Niureddu Ammatiddatu · Niureddu Capucciu · Nirello Cappucio
Nerello Cappuccio is the lesser-known of the two Nerellos of eastern Sicily. On Mount Etna it is planted alongside Nerello Mascalese, often in the same rows, and the two are picked and fermented together or blended afterwards. Mascalese supplies the acidity, tannic grip and aromatic definition; Cappuccio contributes roundness, a softer mid-palate and dark fruit. Etna's rules reflect that hierarchy: red and rosé wines must be at least 80% Mascalese, with Cappuccio allowed as the minority partner.
Outside Etna the variety is a supporting grape in the toe of Italy. Calabrian denominations around Catanzaro and Reggio Calabria permit it in blends led by Gaglioppo or other local reds. Varietal bottlings exist but remain few, and in most cellars the grape is judged by how well it fills out a Mascalese-based wine rather than by what it does alone.
Nerello Cappuccio belongs to Etna and the surrounding province of Catania, where written records place it in the 1700s. The Nerello name comes from nero, black. Cappuccio means hood, and the usual explanation is the waxy bloom that coats the bunches like a cloak, which also accounts for the synonym Nerello Mantellato (mantello is Italian for cloak).
The variety's identity is less settled than its history. Thirty-four vines gathered as Nerello Cappuccio from commercial Sicilian vineyards were tested by DNA, and the result showed a mixture: the true Cappuccio genotype alongside five other distinct, unidentified varieties. The grape was therefore sometimes described as polyphyletic, a term that modern ampelography avoids; the practical conclusion is that a vineyard sold as Cappuccio may contain several different vines. Perricone, Nerello Mascalese and Frappato are the varieties most often confused with it.
Its own parentage has not been established. The 2013 finding that Sangiovese and Mantonico bianco are the parents of Nerello Mascalese concerns Mascalese, not Cappuccio, and the two Nerellos should not be assumed to be closely related on that basis. Beyond Sicily, the variety took hold in Calabria, mainly across the Catanzaro and Reggio Calabria provinces. Italian plantings were recorded at 1,559 ha in 2000, and later estimates are roughly half that, with about 70% in Sicily and 30% in Calabria.
Nerello Cappuccio is vigorous and ripens in the middle of the season; its tightly packed bunches carry berries of medium size. Trials across Etna's vineyards have found it flowering and ripening somewhat earlier than Nerello Mascalese, with harvest usually in early to mid October, and reaching technological maturity with lower total acidity and a higher pH. Its anthocyanin accumulation is reported to be higher and its tannin lower than Mascalese, though winery experience on colour varies. The dense clusters call for attention to rot in wet autumns, and vigour has to be managed with canopy work and yield control if the fruit is to avoid dilution. Because older Etna vineyards are frequently interplanted, with Cappuccio, Mascalese and other vines mixed in the same rows, growers often harvest them together rather than by variety.
Cappuccio rarely appears alone. In Etna Rosso and Etna Rosato it is a minority component, up to 20% of the blend, where it softens the more rigid structure of Nerello Mascalese and adds dark cherry and plum fruit. In Faro DOC the rules call for 15 to 30% Nerello Cappuccio alongside 45 to 60% Nerello Mascalese and 5 to 10% Nocera, with a further 15% allowed from other approved reds. Where it is vinified alone, the wines tend toward moderate colour, black fruit, gentle tannin and less precision than Mascalese; Benanti and Fessina are among the few Sicilian houses to bottle it as a varietal, and Benanti ages its version in stainless steel. In Calabria it adds fruit and softness to Savuto, in a capped role of up to 10% together with Greco Nero, and to Lamezia, where it shares a Nerello portion of the blend with Mascalese.
Where it grows
Etna (Sicily)
The variety's centre of gravity, on the north, east and south slopes of the volcano. Etna DOC red and rosé require at least 80% Nerello Mascalese, with Nerello Cappuccio the main permitted complement at up to 20%.
Faro (Messina, Sicily)
A small DOC near the Strait of Messina where Cappuccio is a required component at 15 to 30% beside Nerello Mascalese and Nocera. Palari's 2008 blend, for example, used 20% Cappuccio.
Catania and Messina provinces
The grape is widely planted in these two north-eastern provinces, usually interplanted with Mascalese and other vines, and also contributes to wines labelled Sicilia DOC.
Catanzaro and Reggio Calabria (Calabria)
The main Calabrian homes of the variety. It is authorised in several denominations including Sant'Anna di Isola Capo Rizzuto, Lamezia and Savuto.
Savuto (Calabria)
The Savuto rules cap Greco Nero and Nerello Cappuccio together at 10%, in blends led by Gaglioppo (locally Arvino) and Aglianico, so Cappuccio plays a very minor role there.