"Which Italian wine comes to mind first? Just one," the professor asks each of the students seated in the front rows. "Barolo," "Barbaresco," "Chianti Classico," "Amarone" – I hear the voices of my neighbors. "Brunello di Montalcino" – I say, and then I think: "Why do so many of us think of the same regions, often even the same wines?" The National Register of Grape Varieties in Italy includes over 500 wine grape varieties. Often we circle around the same grape varieties and wines, leaving aside some indigenous ones that may be capable of taking us on an extraordinary sensory adventure.
That day I was at a sommelier course lesson about wines from Lazio. We talked about Frascati DOC and Cesanese del Piglio DOCG, but my thoughts had already gone to Lower Lazio. Last winter I tasted a rare red grape variety from the Frusinate region, the Lecinaro. With its aromas of ripe plum, cocoa, black pepper, and sweet spices, it caught my attention. Therefore, I couldn't help but get to know it better.
And here I am, on a visit to the wineries of the province of Frosinone. We meet in Arce, a small municipality with an ancient history.
Here the ancient Romans cultivated the vine, integrating the traditions of the Greeks and Etruscans into their practices.
One day these lands were part of the Kingdom of Naples and today they represent an important point in the "agricultural map" of Ciociaria in Lower Lazio. They have seen many methods of cultivation and harvest: where, if not here, to seek the threads of the stories of the native grape varieties of Lazio?
Let's go to Palazzo Tronconi, a biodynamic farm that celebrates all the faces of Lecinaro. Here we taste the sparkling Lecinaro, made using the traditional method, and in still winemaking, the rosé and red versions. Instead, along with other grape varieties, blended with Lecinaro, we discover the white.
In recent historical notes, we find references to Lecinaro in the 19th century and today. The previous memory of the cultivation and winemaking of the grape variety is fragmented or varies among different sources. How and what brought Lecinaro to Palazzo Tronconi?
"The Lecinaro has always been with me, but no one has ever taken the time to record it," says Marco Marrocco, the owner and winemaker of Palazzo Tronconi.
Only in 2009 did the National Register of Wine Grape Varieties officially recognize some indigenous grape varieties from Lazio, including
Maturano, Pampanaro, Capolongo, and Lecinaro
A project of Arsial (Regional Agency for the Development and Innovation of Agriculture in Lazio) is dedicated to the recovery of these indigenous varieties, creating an experimental vineyard to safeguard the local wine heritage. Now the Lecinaro is cultivated on approximately 20 hectares. The winemakers firmly believe in the renaissance of native grape varieties. Why? We only understand it through practice – by tasting the wines.
Marco Marrocco explains that what excites him most about Lecinaro is that it is a very eclectic, multitasking grape variety. But what does that mean? If we had to describe Lecinaro, we could say it's an easy-drinking wine with soft tannins. But it is not always that way, not often, not entirely. Lecinaro is a plant that tends to produce a lot, but with the right agronomic techniques and by 'lightening the plant a lot', it is possible to obtain wines of great structure suitable for long aging, as Marco explains, hinting at the possibility of Lecinaro being multitasking.
Like two boxers in a match on the ring, on one side we have us, wine lovers, and on the other side, the climate variations that affect the crops. If we wanted to represent our tastes, summarizing those that we share the most, we could say that we prefer fresher wines without excessive influence from oak and with a moderate alcohol level. On the other side of the ring are climate changes that imply an increase in temperatures, sometimes a higher concentration of sugar in the grapes, and therefore more alcohol in the wine. But it seems that Lecinaro doesn’t care about this; in fact, it has high acidity and the ability to give moderate alcohol, unlike other grape varieties from lower Lazio that normally have lower acidity. For example, an 11-degree alcohol Lecinaro in a blend can refresh white wines.
The variation in the plant's productive load can be directed towards different styles of wine. If the plant has a large load of bunches, the classical method can be used. "If I lighten it more – a rosé wine – says Marco Marocco, – by lightening the plant even more, thus reducing the amount of grapes, I can also make a structured red wine."
There are also other Ciociarian wineries that believe in Lecinaro, including D.S. Bio, Vitivinicola Cioffi, and Il Vecchio Poggio.
We are moving from Arce to Isola del Liri, still in the province of Frosinone. Amedeo Iafrati – the president of the Ciociaria Naturale association, the owner and winemaker of the Il Vecchio Poggio company – shares that they are passionate about the beauty of the Lecinaro grape, the "late" harvest, and the product that emerges, which has astonishing freshness and complexity.
The Lecinaro grape matures slowly, waiting for its turn for the harvest in October.
The high temperatures and excessive heat do not prevent him from maintaining his calm pace. Even under these conditions, the Lecinaro is able to produce elegant and soft red wines.
Amedeo begins to harvest the Lecinaro in the second week of October, in his vineyard of almost one hectare: a small plot of land but with great potential. Everything here was planted between 2008 and 2015. Initially, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon occupied the main positions among the reds. Then the turning point: Amedeo decided to focus on indigenous varieties. He grafted the Lecinaro onto Cabernet Sauvignon to create a fresher wine, ready to drink, but with character.
“Riama” 2022 IGP Frusinate Lecinaro by Il Vecchio Poggio is 100% Lecinaro made in terracotta amphora and has only 12% alcohol content. At the same time, it is a red wine of good balance, complexity, and generous aromas. Amedeo believes that Lecinaro has different nuances – it can be an easy-drinking and slightly tannic wine, but also a wine suitable for long aging in wood.
While we taste the “Riama”, Amedeo shares how delightful it is paired with the fresh pecorino cheeses from the Comino valley, or with “sagne e fagioli”. The latter is a typical Ciociaro dish, prepared with maltagliati, beans, onion, garlic, celery, and spicy chili pepper.
If the Lecinaro shows multiple faces, there are just as many possibilities for gastronomic pairings.
"Cloe," from the Palazzo Tronconi winery, is a classic method made from 100% Lecinaro grapes that seems designed specifically to pair with tortelli cacio e pepe. The "Gizziello" sparkling rosé, with its aromas of red grapefruit, mandarin, and peach purée, becomes a refreshing aperitif. A more elegant "shade" of Palazzo Tronconi's Lecinaro is "Zitore." Here, Marco recommends focusing on more structured local dishes like lamb coratella.
