Albarola

Outside of Liguria, the grape was historically grown in Sicily. Most of the plantings of Albarola today are found in the Cinque Terre and La Spezia where the grape is commonly blended with other Ligurian varieties such as Bosco and Vermentino.

Under DOC regulations for Cinque Terre, Albarola destined for this wine must be harvested to a yield no greater than 9 tonnes/hectare and along with Vermentino can constitute no more than 40% of the blend with Bosco needing to account for at least 60% of the wine.

In the DOC wine of Colline di Levanto, Albarola can be harvested to a maximum yield of 11 tonnes/ha and constitute of anywhere from 20-55% of the blend.

Albarola is a small grape which is light bodied and somewhat neutral in flavour when it is young. As the wines made with this grape mature, they take on honey, floral and perfume aromas.

Among the synonyms that Albarola is known under include Albarola bianca, Albarola di Lavagna, Albarola trebbiana, Bianchetta Genovese, Calcatella, Calcatella di Sarzana, Erbarola, Temosci, Trebbiano di Sarzana and Trebbiano locale.