Impigno

Impigno is named after a farmer. He is credited with bringing the variety to Ostuni between 1904 and 1905, and the grape has carried his name ever since, which is about as short a documented history as an Italian wine grape can have. It remains rare, confined to a handful of towns in Puglia, and finding anyone who makes it alone is genuinely difficult.

An improbable parentage A 2010 study suggests Impigno is a natural cross between Puglia’s Bombino Bianco and Piedmont’s Quagliano. That is strange, as D’Agata notes, because neither variety has ever been described in the other’s region. He offers the obvious human explanation: an emigrant in one direction or the other may well have travelled with a favourite grapevine packed alongside the toothbrush.

Where it grows Impigno is found in the countryside around Ostuni, Brindisi, Carovigno, San Vito dei Normanni and a few neighbouring towns. Growers in that specific area hold it in noticeably higher esteem than Puglian winemakers from elsewhere, which is the usual pattern for a grape whose virtues are local and whose reputation is not. D’Agata reports that most people he asked did not understand why he was interested at all.

In the vineyard The bunch is medium-sized, loosely packed and winged, and the berry oval, medium and green. The loose cluster is an advantage in a hot, humid southern climate, allowing air through the bunch and reducing rot pressure. Beyond that the variety makes few demands, which is part of why it survived without anyone paying it much attention.

Appearance and structure The wine is light, crisp and easy-going, and D’Agata is refreshingly blunt about the ceiling: it will not put Montrachet out of business, but it is a perfectly good wine for simple summer drinking if you can find it. That is a fair description of what the variety is for and what it does well.

Aromatic profile Green apple, citrus and a faint herbal note make up most of it, with the crispness carrying the wine rather than any depth of aroma. It is not aromatic and does not aspire to be. What it offers is clarity and refreshment in a region where heat makes both hard to achieve.

In the cellar The principal wine is the Ostuni DOC, where Impigno is blended with Francavidda, the other white native of that stretch of Puglia. A good example is made at 75 per cent Impigno and 25 per cent Francavidda. Cool fermentation and early bottling are what the grape needs; there is nothing to be gained by working it harder.

Its partner grape Francavidda is the near-inseparable companion, and the two are rarely discussed apart. The pairing is old enough that the Ostuni DOC is built around it, and it reflects a practical division: Impigno supplies the body and Francavidda the lift. Neither is much planted outside the Ostuni countryside.

Key expressions

• Ostuni DOC bianco, blended with Francavidda.
• Bottlings at around 75 per cent Impigno, the traditional proportion.
• Old plantings around Carovigno and San Vito dei Normanni.
• Rare varietal attempts from growers in the Ostuni countryside.

The question of aging None. Impigno is a wine for the summer after the vintage, and its crispness is the whole of its appeal. It has neither the acidity nor the extract to reward waiting, and a second year does it no favours. Drink it where it is made, cold.

At the table It goes with what Ostuni eats: raw and grilled seafood, burrata, vegetables in olive oil, fried fish. Its lightness makes it a good all-day wine in a hot climate, which is the role it has always played. Serve it thoroughly chilled, around eight degrees.

Why it matters Impigno is a grape with a farmer’s name, a century of documented history, and a parentage that implies someone carried a vine several hundred miles for reasons nobody recorded. It makes a modest wine in a small area and almost no one outside it cares. That is precisely the kind of variety that vanishes without anyone noticing, which is reason enough to write it down.