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Molise Native Vines – Second Part
Rosa D'Ancona – January 1, 2006

Native White Vines

In the Molise region there are no native white vines.

Native Red Vines

Tintilia
Tintilia is a vine native to Molise and is considered the most intimately linked to the peasant culture of the region. It is an ancient cultivar belonging to the ampelographic tintorie family, a red grape variety with deeply colored juice and skin.

Because of its excellent conformation to the Molise environment, at the end of the 19th century, it was the most widely cultivated grape in the region.

After WW II though, a progressive abandonment and uprooting of these vines took place, especially in the historic growing zones. The situation got so bad that the official vine register of 1998 reported that just 2% of the vineyards in the province of Campobasso, and around the 5% in the province of Isernia were Tintilia grapes.

In the past this grape was used mainly to produce a truly robust varietal. Currently, thanks in part to the 1998 recognition of the Molise DOC, there has been the hope of bringing the Tintilia grape production back to significant levels. In the process, the local administration wants to fully recover the culture and tradition of this valuable Molise native vine.

The main characteristics of the grape are the strong depth of the coloring substances and the tannin content. These characteristics are passed on to the juice integrally when crushed, thus the young wine shows deep red-purple highlights.

Outstanding Producers

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