Bellone

Bellone is a grape variety of ancient origins widespread in Lazio and cultivated mainly in the vineyards around the capital, where it plays an important role in the delicate white wines of the Roma DOC denomination. It features a fan-shaped, cottony, whitish-green shoot tip with a carmine edge; the leaf is large, pentagonal, and five-lobed with a lyre-shaped petiolar sinus with closed and even overlapping edges, of a deep green color. The cluster is nearly large, cylindrical-conical, sometimes with one wing, semi-loose or compact with medium-sized, sub-round berries, a thick, firm, yellowish skin, and nearly soft pulp with a simple flavor. The variety has good vigor, preferring medium-expansion training systems and rich, medium, or short pruning. Bellone VCR2 produces ready-to-drink wines with fruity notes of moderate intensity and finesse; they are fresh and sapid, with a slightly bitter, non-persistent aftertaste.