RARE GRAPE VARIETAL RESOURCE

Prié blanc is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown almost exclusively in the Valle d'Aosta DOC of northwest Italy. The Valle d'Aosta varietal wine Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle is made from Prié blanc grapes.

Ampelographers consider Prié blanc one of the oldest grape varieties in the Valle d'Aosta. Through a complex pedigree it appears to have some genetic relationship with most every other grape variety in the region.

Ampelographers do not yet know definitively the origins of Prié blanc but evidence shows that it is a very old variety that has been growing in the Valle d'Aosta region of northwest Italy since at least 1691 when it was documented as one of the grapes growing in the commune of Saint-Pierre near the city of Aosta.

Historically, there have been two clones of Prié blanc found in the Valle d'Aosta region. The Valdigne clone from the upper part of the Valley has been a specialty grown in the communes of Morgex and La Salle. The second clone grown around the Valpelline region of the valley in the foothills of Grand Combin, though recorded in the area in 1838 by ampelographer Lorenzo Gatta, is now considered largely extinct with only the Valdigne clone still being used commercially throughout the Valle d'Aosta.

Prié blanc is an early ripening grape variety that has good winter-hardiness and resistance to frost. The grapevine is susceptible to several other viticultural hazards including various rots and the grapevine moth species Eupoecilia ambiguella. Most vines of Prié blanc are ungrafted due to phylloxera's difficulties surviving in the harsh climate conditions of the Valle d'Aosta. In order to maximize the amount of heat needed to fully ripen, vines of Prié blanc are usually trained in low pergola systems near to the ground so that the vines can capture the heat radiating from the soil.

The vast majority of Prié blanc plantings in the world are found in the Valle d'Aosta region of northwest Italy with 39 hectares (96 acres) recorded in 2000. Most of these plantings are situated around the communes of La Salle and Morgex where the grape is permitted to be made as a varietal wine in the Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) zone of Valle d'Aosta under the label of Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle. With vineyards planted between 900 metres (3,000 ft) to 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) above sea level, these plantings of Prié blanc are some of the highest-elevation vineyards in continental Europe. 

Outside of Italy, a scant 0.02 hectares (0.049 acres) of Prié blanc is planted in the Valais region of Switzerland as of 2005.

According to Master of Wine Jancis Robinson, Prié blanc tends to make dry wines with "fresh" acidity levels and aromas of white flowers and hay. In the Valle d'Aosta region, the grape is sometimes used to make dessert wines and sparkling wines made in the traditional method of Champagne.

(Photo and text source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

http://www.vivc.de/index.php?r=passport%2Fview&id=107

Help us populate this website. Whatever verifiable information you could provide re: this varietal or others (story pertaining to the varietal, description, producer, importer etc...) would be appreciated. See Contact page or email please

Aiutateci a popolare questo sito. Ogni informazione verificabile che potrete fornire su queste o altre varietà (storia della varietà, descrizione, produttore, importatore, etc…) sarà molto gradita. Per questo potete indirizzare le informazioni utilizzando la sezione Contatti o l' email. Grazie