Grape Guide
Schioppettino
RedSchioppettino is a black-berried variety from the Judrio hills of Friuli, in north-east Italy, near the Slovenian border. It yields peppery, aromatic reds of moderate weight, with fresh acidity and fine tannins. Its heartland is the commune of Prepotto, which holds a dedicated subzone of the Colli Orientali del Friuli denomination.
Key Characteristics
- Thick-skinned black berries on fragile stems
- Mid to late ripening
- Prone to poor fruit set (millerandage) after a cold, wet spring
- Vulnerable to downy mildew and to stem shrivelling
- Unrelated to Ribolla Gialla despite the old synonym Ribolla Nera
Typical Flavors
Major Regions
Prepotto (Colli Orientali del Friuli) · Cialla (Colli Orientali del Friuli) · Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC · Friuli Isonzo DOC · Venezia Giulia IGT · California (Russian River Valley) · Heathcote (Victoria)
Also Known As
Pocalza (Slovenia) · Poçalza (Slovenia) · Pokalca (Slovenia) · Pokalza (Slovenia) · Ribolla Nera (Friuli) · Scoppiettino · Schiopetino
Overview
Schioppettino is a red grape of the Friulian hills, and its wines are defined by aroma more than weight. Black pepper is the signature note, set against wild raspberry, blackberry and violet, with a savoury, herbal edge as the wine ages. Colour is deep, tannins are firm but fine-grained, and acidity is lively, so the best bottlings read as elegant rather than heavy. Prepotto and the neighbouring hamlet of Cialla, in the Judrio valley on the Slovenian frontier, are its heartland, and the Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC is its principal appellation. A large share of the wine is also sold under the broader Venezia Giulia IGT. Plantings are small: about 96 ha were recorded in Italy around 2000, and later estimates run to roughly 150 ha. It is a specialist variety, but a respected one, and its wines have drawn growers abroad.
Origins & History
The variety is native to Friuli. Its earliest probable written record comes under the name Ribolla Nera, in an ampelographic work of 1877 that located it around Udine. That name is misleading: morphological study and DNA profiling show Schioppettino is not a dark-skinned version of Ribolla Gialla, and no parentage has been published. The name is usually traced to the Italian word for crackling, either because the wine once had a light spritz or because the thick-skinned berries pop when bitten. It started out as the name of the wine and only later passed to the grape. Slovenia knows the grape as Pokalca or Poçalza. One popular story calls for caution. A date of 1282 is often tied to the variety, yet the document behind it merely recorded vineyards around Albana and Prepotto and named no grape. Phylloxera brought Schioppettino close to extinction, and for a time planting it was forbidden. In the early 1970s Paolo Rapuzzi of Cialla began gathering surviving vines from old plots, one of them in the garden belonging to Prepotto's mayor, and in 1972 had roughly a hundred vines grafted without authorization at the Rauscedo nursery. In 1976 the Nonino family honoured the Rapuzzis with its Risit d'Aur prize. Growers in Udine province were officially permitted to plant the variety from 1981, and DOC recognition followed in 1987. A distinct Schioppettino di Prepotto subzone arrived in 2008.
Viticultural Characteristics
Schioppettino ripens mid to late season, so it does best on well-exposed hillside sites with a long, dry autumn. Spring weather matters: cold, wet conditions at flowering lead to millerandage and uneven crops. The vine is vulnerable to downy mildew, and its fragile stems can dry out and shrivel before harvest, which complicates picking and trims yields. The thick skins give good colour but call for patient ripening so that tannins are mature. Its home is the hilly Judrio valley around Prepotto and Cialla, near the Slovenian border. The subzone rules for Schioppettino di Prepotto set tighter production limits and a higher minimum alcohol than the parent Colli Orientali del Friuli appellation.
Wine Styles & Characteristics
Most Schioppettino is a dry, still red fermented on its skins, with producers seeking to keep perfume rather than build bulk. The colour is deep ruby, the nose peppery and floral, and the palate medium to full with fresh acidity and firm, fine tannins. Wines from good sites and older vines can age for ten years or more, developing dried-herb, leather and spice notes while keeping their freshness. Under the Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC, producers are permitted to add some Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso to the blend, and the Prepotto and Cialla subzones show the strongest regional character. The variety's high acidity and modest alcohol also lend themselves to lightly sparkling versions, mostly drunk locally, and some Australian growers make low-alcohol and natural-style wines from it. Small plantings in California produce fresh, peppery reds.