Catarratto Bianco Comune

Ancient native Sicilian grape variety, it has been growing throughout the island since time immemorial.

CULTIVATED AREA IN ITALY

YEAR	1970	1982	1990	2000	2010
HECTARES	56.614	61.428	64.491	43.246	32.903

Bud-burst period: everage.
Ripening period: everage.
Yield: copious but inconsistent due to coulure and millerandage.

Ampelographic characters:

the petiolar sinus has an expanded cottony, white, slightly greenish apex. The leaves are medium-sized, pentagonal and five-lobed. The petiolar sinus has the shape of a narrow V with overlapping edges and downy underside. The medium-sized, cylindrical or conical cluster has one or two wings and it is sparse or semi-compact. The berry is medium-sized, spheroidal or ellipsoidal. The skin is thick and pruinose; the flesh is juicy with a simple, sweet flavour.

Cultural aptitude:

vigorous vine with a semi-upright growth habit. It requires warm and dry climates and deep, not too fertile, clayey-calcareous or even sandy soils.

Training system and pruning:

to be trained on Guyot, bush vine or spurred cordon. Careful management of the foliage is necessary in order to limit coulure and millerandage.

Susceptibility to diseases and adverse conditions:

tolerant to vine diseases and parasites.

Enological potential:

it gives wines of a more-or-less rich straw-yellow colour, with a dry, warm flavour, rich in body and acidity. Before the advent of grillo, it was used in blends with inzolia to produce marsala.