Frappato

Nero Capitano

It probably originated in the Iberian Peninsula, and is mentioned by Domenico Sestini in his “Memoirs on Sicilian wines” of 1760, in which he makes explicit reference to the cultivation of the Frappato variety in the city of Vittoria, in the province of Ragusa. In this part of south-eastern Sicily, a wine is still made today from Frappato blended with Nero d'Avola to produce the famous Cerasuolo di Vittoria. But also as a single variety, Frappato is an appealing wine with an intense, delicate aroma and a fresh but well-structured taste. In Suber it adds an aroma of yellow peach and a slightly tannic hint in the taste.

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Leaf: large to very large with a rather well-developed median primary lobe, five-lobed, sometimes three-lobed; pentagonal or wedge-shaped, sometimes circular.
Bunch: medium to large, cylindrical or conical, winged, compact to very compact. Short, green peduncle, with some pinkish tints on the side exposed to the sun, woody at the base. Green rachis and pedicel.
Berry: medium-small, spherical to short elliptical, thick, violet black, pruinose skin.

DISTRIBUTION AREA

Provinces of Ragusa, Siracusa and Catania

USED IN THE FOLLOWING SICILIAN DOC and DOCG WINES

DOCG WINES: Cerasuolo di Vittoria.
DOC WINES: Eloro, Erice, Vittoria.