Fortana

Also known as Uva d'Oro, Canina Nera, Dallora Nera, Prugnentile, Brugnentile.

A hardy, high-acid red native to the sandy coastal soils of Ferrara's Bosco Eliceo, where it's the sole permitted grape of the Bosco Eliceo DOC's varietal Fortana — the grape's only monovarietal grand-cru zone. Its name ("the strong/tough one") reflects its resilience on the tough, salt-influenced clay-and-sand soils of the old Po delta; a persistent historical synonym, "Uva d'Oro," traces to a legend that Renée of France brought the vine from Burgundy's Côte d'Or for the Duke of Ferrara. Naturally brisk acidity and light tannin make it a useful blending grape for both still and frizzante reds, contributing tartness and red-berry fruit rather than color depth or structure.

In Lombardia, a facultative minor blending component (alongside Lambrusco di Sorbara, Lambrusco Grasparossa, and Ancellotta, up to 15% combined) in Lambrusco Mantovano DOC and its twin Provincia di Mantova / Sabbioneta IGT — grown on the Lombard side of the Po plain adjoining its Ferrarese heartland.