| Grape variety |
Pecorino |
| Synonyms |
arquitano, promotico, vecià, vissanello, pecorino di Osimo, moscianello. |
| Grape colour |
White grape |
| Vigour |
Medium-Good |
| Ripening |
First half of September. |
| Productivity |
Media and not always constant. |
| Areas of cultivation |
It is popular mainly in the Marche, but it is also found in Abruzzo, Umbria, Lazio and, in the least, Tuscany and Liguria. |
| History |
The variety has a long, complicated and all-too-common history. It has been cultivated in the Marche region for hundreds of years but low yields saw it replaced by more-productive grape varieties like Trebbiano. By the mid-20th Century, Pecorino was thought extinct. In the 1980s, a local producer researching native varieties investigated a rumor of some forgotten vines in an overgrown vineyard. Cuttings were taken and propagated, and eventually grew enough grapes to make a very good wine in the early 1990s. Since then, the variety's plantings have grown exponentially, and Pecorino is grown in Marche, Abruzzo, Umbria and Tuscany. |
| Ampelographic features |
Leaf: medium or less, orbicular, whole or trilobata; Petiole breast in closed lira and also with overlapping edges; Lateral veins above V open or semi-closed, shallow; Lower side nipples missing or just mentioned. Top glabra, green load; Bottom page glabra; Flap slightly gutted, with a slightly bulging surface; Corrugated lobes with end angles to the generally straight top. Main hoof on the bottom green or slightly faded pink, glabra. Regularly sized dentures, in 1, 2 or 3 series, with medium-sized teeth, on straight edge margins, are slightly concave, narrow-banded.
Bunch: Medium or small, cylindrical or cylindrical-conical, sometimes winged, semi-tight or semi-spatula for light casting; Mid-length or almost long, slender, semi-legged peduncle; Mid-length, thin, green pedicel; Medium average, medium thick, green; Small, greenish-yellowish brush.
Acino: medium or small, spherical; Thin, medium-sized, yellow, slightly peeled, medium-pronged brownish skin; Just navel navel; Melted pulp and simple flavor; Separation of the acorn from the mediumly strong pedicle. |
| Characteristics of the wine obtained from this grape variety |
The wines have straw-yellow color, with good freshness and acidity. In the olfactory plant you can distinguish the renette apples with spices of cinnamon and licorice, and in some of the most well-known vinemarks also floral notes of broom and jasmine. Great structure, sapidity and minerality that need to be carefully balanced to give the right balance to wine especially in youth. |
| Notes |
Resistance to adversity: meteoric: many; To cryptogamous illnesses: much to the mildew and oidum, at average grape rot. |