Marzemino

Of the grapes that make up this wine, only Marzemino has been mentioned in opera. In the final scene of Don Giovanni, the Don asked his servant Leporello to pour out the wine - an excellent Marzemino (Versa il vino! Eccellente marzimino!). That was well before the plea for repentance from Donna Elvira and the appearance of the Commendatore's statue to take him down to Hell.

Marzemino is an indigenous Italian grape from Isera, south of Trentino. DNA studies showed it to be a cross of Refosco del Pedunculo Rosso and Teroldego. It requires a long growing season and ripens late. It is susceptible to many fungal diseases and is prone to high yields and over-cropping. Widely used as a blending grape, it produces wines with a dark tint and plumy flavour. It can also yield light wines with a lively (even spritzig) acidity. Marzemino can be dried and made into sweet wines blended with other grapes.