Catarratto Mantellato

Main Characteristics

The Catarratto Mantellato variety is an ancient technical white grape of Italian origin. The greatest distribution of the variety was in the internal regions of Sicily, predominantly in the province of Girgenti (Agrigento), and also partially in Caltanissetta, Catania, Messina, and Siracusa. The plant is characterized by longevity, maintaining high productivity for more than 60 years. The ripening period of the harvest in Sicily occurs in late September or early October. The Catarratto Mantellato grape is valued for its stable fruiting and its ability to rapidly yield a remunerative harvest after planting, but it is rarely vinified on its own due to low natural acidity.

Recorded morphological features of the variety:

• Mature wood: shoots are large and long, whitish or flesh-colored in winter with distinct stripes. A characteristic feature of the variety is the bright carmine-red staining around the buds. Internodes range from 9–10 to 12 cm.
• Young shoot (growing tip): at the beginning of vegetation, it has a tender green color tending to light yellow, slightly pubescent. The edges of the shoot are beautifully margined with pink-carmine. As it develops, it becomes completely glabrous, smooth, and glossy. The flower clusters are large, elongated, and covered with a characteristic rusty-colored dust.
• Leaf: formed leaves are large, entire, without distinct sinuses, intense green and glossy on the upper side. In the sun, the leaf blade easily turns yellow. The petiolar sinus is deep, elliptical, and almost closed. The main veins are large, whitish-yellow. The petiole is long, with pinkish stripes, holding the leaf in a rather erect position.
• Bunch: large, compact, predominantly of an elongated-pyramidal shape, often with one or two wings. The average length is 17–20 cm, reaching 25–30 cm under favorable conditions. The greenish-white stem of the bunch has an exceptional length (7–8 cm) and a curved shape.
• Berry: regularly round in shape with a diameter of about 18–20 mm. The skin is tough, white in color, and becomes golden at perfect maturity. The surface of the berries is covered with an abundant white waxy bloom (pruina), giving the bunches a general whitish appearance.

Agricultural Characteristics

The Catarratto Mantellato variety forms vigorous vines and demonstrates high yield on deep, fertile black or red soils of plains and slightly inclined slopes. On dry, steep, and compact clay-limestone soils, the plant is prone to severe flower dropping (coulure), especially during rainy spring weather. To prevent this problem, the vines require mandatory shoot thinning, disbudding, and topping before and during flowering. Cultivation on a low trunk with short pruning of the fruiting canes is recommended. The variety demonstrates low susceptibility to powdery mildew (oidium) and anthracnose, and is rarely damaged by insects or birds. However, the berries are highly sensitive to sharp temperature changes and rains during the ripening period — the skin easily cracks, leading to the development of grey rot.

Winemaking and Product Characteristics

In winemaking, the variety is used for the production of dry white or yellow table wines. Due to the rapid drop in acidity during overripening and the tendency of monovarietal wines to develop specific disorders (browning of the must), the Catarratto Mantellato grape is almost always processed in blends. It is traditionally mixed with slightly underripe white grapes to stabilize acidity or with tart red varieties to make the wines softer and more gentle in taste. The must is characterized by a high sugar content, but the density indicator is consistently 1–2 degrees lower on the Guyot scale compared to the base Catarratto bianco variety. When transferred to cool northern regions of Italy, the variety maintains stable fruiting but falls into the latest ripening group.