On the brink of extinction, but was rescued by Marco Baciagalupo, a pastry chef from Genoa, Liguria. In the 1970’s, Marco gathered together about 500 vines that were purported to be Çimixà and planted them all together iat the old abandoned vineyard of Cassottana, (which is now established as an experimental vineyard) with the aid of Lorenzo Corino, director of the Asti Experimental Institute for viticulture, the agronomist Silvia Dellepiane, the Community of Montana Fontanabuona and the Cooperativa Agricola St. Columban. The cooperative took over the job of caring for these vines in the 1990’s, and by 2003, the grape was included in the national register of varieties in Italy. The last published agricultural census for Italy was carried out before Çimixà was added to the national register of varieties, so there currently is no figure on total plantings of the grape in Italy (though probably tiny).
Their goal was to expand plantings of this variety to a commercial level in the Genoese area, in particular around Chiavari. A conference was held 21 April 2005, to monitor progress.
In a study carried out in 2009 found that the Çimixà/Scimiscià of Liguria is the same as the Frate Pelato, a grape is occasionally used in the blends of the Cinque Terre. and the Genovese of Corsica, which can be found in some Corsican wines, but rarely (if at all) as a varietal.
The Corsican Genovese had been regarded as a local clone of the Bianchetta Genovese/Albarola or the Bosco of Liguria, but tests have shown that while the three grapes share some morphological similarities, Bosco and Albarola appear to be more closely related to one another than either is to Çimixà.
The Çimixà (Genoese dialect) and Scimiscià (Fontanina? dialect) are dialectical variants of one another, and both refer to bedbugs because the vine apparently has spots on it resembling bedbug bites.
There are a handful of Ligurian producers making varietal wines from the grape, and nearly all of them use either the Çimixà or the Scimiscià name for their products. Bisson chooses to use the Çimixà name on their label, though the wine itself is called “L’Antico.” Does Italian DOC allows for a 100% Çimixà wine? L’Antico is bottled as an IGT.
Tasting note May 2014: Bisson ‘L’Antico’ 2012 DOC Portofino. 100% Çimixa. Wax, beeswax, round, fat weight, goodish acidity. Unusual, maybe a bit like Semillon – but really quite distinctive, and a variety which may show different character with other producers.
Importer Rosenthal in the US describes this wine as having a moderately intense aroma with lovely, delicate aromas of peach, pear, lime, white flowers and chalk. On the palate the wine was on the lighter side of medium with medium acidity. There were flavors of apricot, lime peel, ripe pear, and golden apple with some chalky minerality on the finish. The wine was subtle, delicate and elegant.
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