There is a lot of uncertainty about the etymological interpretation of the name Vermentino. The only hypothesis that has a certain reliability would seem to be the one put forward by Giusi Mainardi in 1995, according to which the name could be traced back to the term "vermene" which means young, flexible and thin twig. It comes from the Latin verbena, a word already used by Dante in the "Divine Comedy".
In the past, Vermentino was often called by other names, although used to indicate the same vine: for example, Galluso (in 1834) in his work “Pomona Italiana”, used the terms Vermentino and Vernaccia indiscriminately. It is likely that the incorrect synonymy was caused by the fact that around the Ligurian town of Vernazza the vines were grown Vermentino e Pickaxe (identical), with which the wines of the Cinque Terre were produced, marketed by the Genoese since the XNUMXth century.
Gallesio claimed the Ligurian origin of the vine, but there were different theories: according to the French ampelographers Pulliat and Odart, for example, in Vermentino it was originally from the Iberian peninsula from where it would later spread to Provence, Corsica, Sardinia, Liguria and Tuscany. It is still not clear, to this day, which direction Vermentino has followed over time, whether from Spain to Italy or vice versa. According to Mainardi, the origins of the vine are instead to be found in the Middle East, from where it was introduced by the Arabs in the Upper Western Mediterranean.
At the moment it is thought that the Piedmontese Favorita, the Ligurian Rollo and Pigato, which are registered in the National Register as autonomous vines, are instead to be considered identical to Vermentino.
In Sardinia the two typologies of the vine, Gallura and Alghero, are distinguished not so much by morphological features, but by the area in which they are grown and by the production methods.
Vermentino has been registered in the National Register of Vine Varieties since 1970.
It is currently cultivated in all the provinces of Sardinia, protected by the Vermentino di Gallura Docg and the Vermentino di Sardegna Docg; in all the provinces of Tuscany, considered as a type in purity from the Doc Colline Lucchesi, Montescudaio, Val di Cornia, Bolgheri, Capalbio, Montecucco and Monteregio di Massa Marittima; in the Ligurian provinces, including the Ligurian Riviera di Ponente DOC, the Tigullio Gulf, Val Polcevera, Cinque Terre and Colli di Luni. It is also present throughout Puglia and in the provinces of Perugia, Ascoli Piceno, Teramo, Viterbo and Agrigento. It occupies a total area of about 4000 hectares.
There are two types of Vermentino: the first in tight bunches, the second loose. The tight cluster is medium-large, pyramidal, with two wings. The sparse one is medium, generally cylindrical and elongated. Vermentino serrato has a medium-large grape, sometimes slightly elongated; the sparse one has the smallest grape, with a more marked yellow-amber color. The ripening period for both types is around the second / third decade of September.
Vermentino has long been used, especially in the 60s and 70s of the last century, as a table grape. Usually it gives life to a wine with ample and elegant aromas, with notes of fresh fruit, citrus and white flowers. In the mouth it is generally full and balanced, supported by good acidity and fine sapidity.
It can evolve positively in the medium term.
SOME PRODUCERS
ARGIOLAS, Via Roma, Serdiana (Cagliari): among other wines it produces the Vermentini "Cerdena", "Costamolino" and "Is Argiolas"
ANCIENT PODERI JERZU, Via Umberto I 1, Jerzu (Nuoro): they produce, among other things, Vermentino di Sardegna DOC, Monica di Sardegna DOC and Cannonau di Sardegna "Bantu"
AMPHOXIA, Via Paccini 39, Albenga (Savona): they produce, among others, Vermentino Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC, Pigato Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC and Rossese Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC.
LUNAE WINERY, Via Palvotrisia 2, Colombiera-Molicciara (La Spezia): produces, among other things, the Colli di Luni Vermentino DOC "Black Label", the Colli di Luni Vermentino DOC "Gray Label", and a Ciliegiolo Riviera di Levante IGT.
OLD HAY, Via S. Pertini, La California, Bibbona (Livorno): produces, among other things, Vermentino Toscana IGT, Morellino di Scansano DOCG and a Bolgheri Rosso Superiore DOC “Sor Ugo”.