Recantina del Montello: il ritorno di un vitigno storico

Recantina was documented in the Trevigiano by the seventeenth century and praised by Agostinetti in 1679. It declined between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries through phylloxera and the world wars, surviving in occasional mixed rows with Cabernet Sauvignon. In the early 2000s, the Istituto Enologico Cerletti in Conegliano brought researchers and growers together to recover it.

The variety is late ripening and suited to drained Montello hillsides with clay-limestone soils and long, mild autumns. Its compact bunches, thick bloom-covered skins and susceptibility to mould and rot require careful management, aided by Piave breezes. It has high anthocyanin and tannin levels; even freshly pressed juice can show pink tones. Three principal clones are identified: Forner, a pecolo rosso and a pecolo scuro.

Francesco Serafini encountered the recovered variety through a Cerletti tasting panel. Serafini & Vidotto planted it in 2005. The estate closely controls harvest timing and maceration and uses stainless steel to retain the grape’s identity. Its cultivation is presented as part of a broader duty to recover, study and respectfully interpret Montello’s wine heritage.