| Picolit | |
|---|---|
| Grape (Vitis) | |
| Color of berry skin | Blanc |
| Species | Vitis vinifera |
| Also called | see list of synonyms |
| Origin | Italy |
| Notable regions | Friuli-Venezia Giulia |
| Notable wines | Colli Orientali del Friuli |
| VIVC number | 9236 |
Picolit (also known as Piccolit and Piccolito) is a white Italian wine grape grown in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. The grape is allowed in the Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) wines of Colli Orientali del Friuli. The grape is most commonly associated with sweet dessert wines often made in the passito style. Historically planted in poor and infertile vineyards, the grape gets its name from the very small stalk, which in friulian language is called pecolèt or pecolùt. The grape had a worldwide reputation in the 18th century when it was featured in royal courts from Great Britain to the Russian Empire. While experiencing cult wine popularity in the 1960s & 1970s, Picolit's extremely small yields have made it economically difficult to grow and has limited the number of plantings.[1]
It was assumed to be identical with the Hungarian grape variety Kéknyelű.[2][failed verification] But in 2006 isoenzymes and microsatellite analyses have confirmed that these two cultivars are different.[3]
- ^ J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 524 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0198609906
- ^ Picolit Archived 2012-05-13 at the Wayback Machine, Vitis International Variety Catalogue, accessed 2010-12-03
- ^ Jahnke, G.; Korbuly, J.; Májer, J.; Molnár, J. Györffyné (2007). "Discrimination of the grapevine cultivars 'Picolit' and 'Kéknyelű' with molecular markers". Scientia Horticulturae. 114: 71–73. doi:10.1016/j.scienta.2007.05.011.