Pallagrello Nero

Also known as Pallagrella nera.

Pallagrello nero is a red wine grape native to the province of Caserta in Campania, the black-berried counterpart of Pallagrello bianco. Like the white, it was a favourite of the Bourbon court and grown in the royal vineyards of the Caserta area before falling into near-oblivion, then was rediscovered and replanted from old vines in the 1990s. It is a distinct variety, not a color mutation of the white.

Pallagrello nero produces deeply colored reds of ruby hue with medium-to-full body and ripe red- and black-fruit character. It is vinified as a varietal within the Terre del Volturno IGT and by growers reviving the historic grapes of the Caserta hills.