Pallagrello nero

There is some DNA evidence to suggest that Pallagrello nero maybe related to an old red Campania variety grown in the province of Caserta known as Casavecchia but the exact extent of that relationship is not yet known.

Under another old synonym, Piedmonte rosso, Pallagrello nero was one of the varieties included in the fan-shaped Vigna del Ventaglio vineyard created in 1775 by architect Luigi Vanvitelli for King Ferdinand's royal palace at Caserta.

The variety was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1990s, along with Pallagrello bianco, by a local winemaker growing in an abandoned Campanian vineyard.

[1] Even though both varieties likely originated in the same part of Campania and the two grapes have historically been linked by synonyms and association, ampelographers have determined that Pallagrello nero is not a color mutation of Pallagrello bianco (in the same way that, for example, Pinot blanc is a color mutation of Pinot noir) though DNA profiling has yet to determine exactly how the two grapes may be related.

[1] Pallagrello nero is rarely seen as a varietal and is currently only permitted to be made as one under the Indicazione geografica tipica (IGT) designation of Campania.