Groppello

Groppello is the red grape of Lake Garda’s western shore, behind the pale, scented reds and rosati of the Valtènesi and Riviera del Garda. The name comes from dialect: grop means a knot or a closed fist, and it describes the bunch exactly, so tightly packed that the berries flatten against one another. Like Greco and Malvasia, Groppello is not one grape but a small family.

Origins and history Agostino Gallo was the first to describe the Groppellos, in 1565, and he included white grapes among them, though what was then called Groppello Bianco is now known to be Nosiola. The Bollettino Ampelografico of 1884 to 1887 reported Groppellos in thirty-nine of the fifty-two townships of the province of Rovigo, and by the early 1900s Viala and Vermorel found a generalised Groppello widespread across Lombardy, Trentino and the Veneto. The family was once far more important than its present acreage suggests.

Who belongs to the family The principal variety is Groppello Gentile. Groppello di Mocasina, also called Groppello di Santo Stefano or Groppello Molinèr, is likewise a Garda grape but much harder to find, while Groppello di Revò belongs to the Val di Non in Trentino and is sometimes called Groppello Nonesiano or Anaune. Groppellone is a large-berried biotype of Gentile. Two impostors should be noted: Groppello Ruperti is actually Lambrusco Viadanese, and Groppello di Breganze has been shown to be Pignola Nera.

Telling them apart Groppello Gentile is the easiest to recognise, since its bunch is always winged; where the bunch is unusually large, the vine is probably the Groppellone biotype. Groppello di Mocasina has the smallest bunches and berries of the group. Groppello di Revò is thought to be the oldest, and its cultivation around Lake Santa Giustina survived phylloxera largely because apple trees, Trentino’s more profitable crop, would not grow on those steep shores and the vines were left alone.

In the vineyard Groppello Gentile is a delicate variety, acutely sensitive to water retention. In waterlogged soils it becomes over-productive, the berries swell and their skins thin, and grey rot follows quickly. It needs sandy or gravelly ground with sharp drainage, which is why the Valtènesi, in the heart of Garda Classico, is its grand cru. Groppello di Mocasina is vigorous and productive enough to need reining in, and does best on poor, rocky hillsides. All the Groppellos resist disease well, apart from the botrytis their compact bunches invite.

Appearance and structure These are pale, finely built reds with bright acidity and lively rather than heavy tannins. Groppello Gentile has the largest berries of the family, which is why it is the one most often used for rosato and lighter red styles. Groppello di Mocasina gives wine that is light in colour and low in acid on its own, but lends perfume and a smoother texture in a blend.

Aromatic profile The signature is red cherry and violet, with tobacco and a generous spread of spice: marjoram, olive wood and above all black pepper. That pepper is not imagination. Researchers at San Michele all’Adige found high concentrations of rotundone in Groppello di Revò, the same molecule responsible for the peppery character of Vespolina, Schioppettino and Grüner Veltliner.

In the cellar Monovarietal Groppello Gentile exists within the DOCs, but the grape is most often blended, frequently with Groppello di Mocasina, and many producers have no clear idea which Groppello they actually grow. Historically Mocasina was blended with Barbera, Sangiovese and Marzemino. Most Groppello is made in a fresh, unoaked style, though riserva bottlings take some wood.

Key expressions

• Valtènesi and Garda Classico reds from the sandy, gravelly soils that suit Gentile best.
• Valtènesi Chiaretto, the pale Garda rosato the grape was made for.
• Rare monovarietal Groppello di Revò from the Val di Non, black-peppered with rotundone.
• Riserva bottlings blending Groppello Gentile with Groppello di Mocasina.

The question of aging Groppello wines are, in general, best drunk within a year or so of the vintage, while the cherry fruit and floral lift are at their most vivid. Riserva bottlings from low-yielding old vines are the exception and will hold five years or more, gaining tobacco and spice as the fruit recedes. The Chiaretto should always be drunk young.

At the table Lightly chilled, Groppello is a fine match for the lake cooking of Garda, from freshwater fish and risotto to salumi and grilled vegetables, and the peppery spice suits herb-driven dishes particularly well. It is a summer red in the best sense. Serve it at fourteen to sixteen degrees.

Why it matters Groppello gives Lake Garda a red identity of its own rather than a borrowed one, and the Valtènesi Chiaretto is among the more convincing rosati made anywhere in Italy. That the family is still partly unsorted, with growers unsure which Groppello stands in their rows, only underlines how much work remains in Italy’s vineyards. It is a grape that rewards the attention it has rarely been given.