La selezione clonale di Gaglioppo e Magliocco dolce, strumento per approfondire le potenzialità enologiche di due importanti vitigni di Calabria

In Italy clonal selection is carried out since early seventies on the great number of grape varieties of the Country. Thanks to this work, in the Italian Grapevine National Catologue are registered up to now more than thousand selected clones (DM 6/12/2000) and so the Italian nurseries can produce the "certified" propagation material (blue label), characterized by an optimum genetic and sanitary status, for planting the new vineyards. The number of registered clones for each variety however is very variable: if the number of clones of international and north-central Italy varieties is adequated, the situation is the opposite for the varieties of south Italy. For example, no selected clones of Gaglioppo, the most important and typical variety of Calabria (southern Region of Italy), are registered in the Catalogue. In this contest, the Librandi Winery of Cirò Marina (KR) in collaboration with the Plant Virology Institut (IVV-CNR), Unit of Grugliasco (TO) and the Enosis laboratory of Fubine (AL) started the clonal selection procedure to obtain clones of Gaglioppo and Magliocco dolce. After the sanitary controls (ELISA and multiplex-RT-PCR assayes), 7 clones of Gaglioppo and 9 of Magliocco dolce (among them one of Lacrima cristi nera and one of Arvino, both considered synonymous of Magliocco dolce) resulted free of virus infections and a vineyard was planted with these clones in Rocca di Neto (KR). In 2010, it was possible to start the official assesments required by clonal selection protocol (DM 24/06/08): morphological descriptions, vigor, yield, juice composition,berry phenol content, wine-making, chemical and sensorial wine analysis. In this paper the results of the first year of controls (2010) are presented. The data already provided accurate information about the agronomic and enological aptitudes of the clones. The most promising clones of Gaglioppo were GAG80, 164 and 165 because of their wines were the most alcoholic, colored and with important phenol content. The three clones had lower yield than the others, with smaller bunches. Among the clones of Magliocco dolce there were less important enological differences, but the phenols content and a rich bouquet characterized the MAG 41 and 48 wines. The yield of the first was moderate whereas that of the second was middle/high. The biotypes Lacrima cristi nera and Arvino provided different characteristics from the others clones of Magliocco dolce.