Catalanesca

Also known as Catalanesca bianca.

Catalanesca is a white grape grown on the slopes of Monte Somma, the northern rim of the Vesuvius complex near Naples. It is traditionally said to have been brought from Catalonia to the Kingdom of Naples in the fifteenth century under Alfonso of Aragon, hence its name. For most of its history it was grown and sold as a table grape, and only in 2011 was it recognized for winemaking with its own IGT, Catalanesca del Monte Somma.

Catalanesca produces dry white wines of straw-yellow color, medium body and fresh, harmonious palate, as well as a golden-hued passito from dried grapes. Its aromas lean to citrus, orchard fruit and light floral notes on the volcanic soils of the Somma slopes.