The white grape variety comes from Italy. Synonyms are Albanello Bianco, Albanello Bianco di Siracusa, Albanello di Siracusa, Arvanella and Fumusa. It was once widespread in the provinces of Caltanissetta, Catina, Ragusa and Siracusa in Sicily and is one of the oldest varieties there. In the 18th century, sweet wines produced from sun-dried grapes were an expensive speciality. There are morphological similarities to the independent varieties Albanella and Albaranzeuli Bianco. The variety is permitted in the DOC white wine Eloro Bianco. It is threatened with extinction, because the area under cultivation in 2016 was only two hectares with an extremely strong downward trend (statistics Kym Anderson).
Source: Wine Grapes / J. Robinson, J. Harding, J. Vouillamoz / Penguin Books Ltd. 2012
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