Picolit

The white grape Picolit Bianco is an indigenous variety from the Friuli- Venezia Giulia, Italy. It was already cultivated in the Roman Empire: the name derives from piccolo ( = small ), because the berries are very small. It is probably with the grown in Hungary variety Kéknyelû (Hungarian Kéknyelü ) identical or at least related. The once common variety has a tendency to coulure and provides rather low yields, so that they in the meantime almost extinct and was only re- selected and newly promoted in the 19th century. Picolit Bianco is a variety of the noble vine (Vitis vinifera ).

The Picolit Bianco gives very hard to find and expensive dessert wines with the name Picolit. The soft -bodied wines produced in the Denominazione di origine controllata - Region Eastern Hills of Friuli and were highly sought after in the 18th century. Antonio Zanon ( 1767) wrote that Picolit was proffered in the courts of Germany, England and France.

See also the article Viticulture in Italy and the list of grape varieties.

Synonyms

The varietal Picolit Bianco is also under the name Balafan, Balafant, Kéknyelû, Blue Stingl White, Keknyelü, Kelner, Peccoleto Bianco, Picolit Picolit Giallo (a kind of Picolit Bianco ), Piccolet, Piccoletta, Piccolit, Piccoliti Bianco, Piccolino, Piccolito del Friuli, Piccolitto Friulano, Picoleto Bianco, Pikolit, Pikolit White, Piros Keknyelü, Ranful White, Uva del Friuli and Wisellertraube White known.