Trebbiano Toscano

Trebbiano Toscano carries the VIVC prime name Trebbiano Toscano, variety number 12628, and VIVC records Italy as its country of origin. Its parentage is unknown: both parent fields in its VIVC passport are blank, and no full pedigree is recorded. The passport does flag offspring.

• VIVC prime name: Trebbiano Toscano; VIVC variety number 12628; country of origin: Italy
• Berry skin colour: blanc (white)
• Parents: none recorded (parentage unknown)
• Offspring: flagged in the VIVC passport

Trebbiano is a name shared between many different Italian grape varieties, and Trebbiano Toscano is the most common of them. A 2001 DNA study by Massimo Labra of the University of Milan and colleagues, published in Vitis, analysed seven Trebbianos, Trebbiano Toscano among them, and suggested that most of the cultivars tested do not share a common ancestor. The study also summarized theories on the origin of the name, from the various Italian towns called Trebbiano to Pliny the Elder's mention of a Campanian vine he called vinum trebulanum. In France, Trebbiano Toscano is known as Ugni Blanc. Trebbiano Toscano was once a possible ingredient in Chianti, which was approved as a DOC in 1967; the Chianti production rules name Trebbiano and Malvasia lunga toscana as historic white grapes of the blend.

• Trebbiano is a name shared by many different Italian grape varieties; Trebbiano Toscano is the most common
• 2001: a DNA study led by Massimo Labra of the University of Milan suggested most of the cultivars tested do not share a common ancestor
• Theories on the name include Italian towns called Trebbiano and Pliny the Elder's vinum trebulanum, a Campanian vine
• Chianti was approved as a DOC in 1967; Trebbiano Toscano was once a possible ingredient in Chianti

OIV recorded 111,000 hectares of Trebbiano Toscano worldwide in 2015, grown predominantly in Italy, France and Portugal. Jancis Robinson calls it the "basic crisp mouthwash of the Tuscan hills", and it is one of the white grapes of Vin Santo del Chianti Classico, where Trebbiano Toscano, Malvasia Bianca Lunga and Malvasia Bianca di Candia, alone or together, must make up at least 60% of the blend. In Orvieto DOC it goes by Procanico, and Trebbiano Toscano and Grechetto must account for at least 60%. In Cannellino di Frascati DOCG it is one of the white grapes allowed up to a combined 30%, alongside at least 70% Malvasia. In France, as Ugni Blanc, it is one of the most planted white grape varieties and the chief ingredient in Cognac, with an important role in Armagnac. It is present in over 98% of vineyards in the Cognac geographical indication. In Bulgaria it is cultivated to produce table grapes, and it is also planted in Greece and extensively in South America.

• Tuscany: one of the white grapes of Vin Santo del Chianti Classico
• Orvieto DOC: known as Procanico; Trebbiano Toscano and Grechetto make up at least 60%
• Cannellino di Frascati DOCG: one of the white grapes allowed up to a combined 30%, alongside at least 70% Malvasia
• France (as Ugni Blanc): one of the most planted white grape varieties and the chief ingredient in Cognac, present in over 98% of vineyards in the Cognac geographical indication
• Bulgaria: cultivated to produce table grapes

Trebbiano Toscano produces wines with high acidity and low alcohol, and its flavour is neutral: in Italy it is vinified into dry white wines and then blended to balance out that neutral flavour. Grown in the Vin Santo del Chianti Classico zone, it gives a straw-coloured wine with good acidity. Its large clusters of small berries produce neutral yet varied and well-balanced wines, from dry wines to liqueurs and sparkling wines. Jancis Robinson describes the wine as thin, light and tart.

• High acidity and low alcohol
• Neutral flavour; in Italy it is blended to balance this out
• In the Vin Santo del Chianti Classico zone: straw-coloured, with good acidity
• Large clusters of small berries give neutral yet varied, well-balanced wines: dry wines, liqueurs and sparkling wines

In France, Ugni Blanc is grown to produce low-alcohol wines of 7 to 9%, which are then distilled into Cognac and Armagnac. For Vin Santo del Chianti Classico, the production rules call for carefully sorted grapes to undergo natural drying: bunches are selected one by one and hung or laid out in well-ventilated places, and after three to four months they go to vinification. Vinification, storage and ageing must then take place in wooden caratelli of no more than 3 hectolitres for at least 24 months from 1 January after the harvest.

• Cognac and Armagnac: low-alcohol wines of 7 to 9% are distilled into spirits
• Vin Santo del Chianti Classico: natural drying, with vinification after three to four months
• Vin Santo del Chianti Classico: vinified and aged in wooden caratelli of up to 3 hectolitres for at least 24 months

Petrolo's Bòggina B is a 100% Trebbiano sold as IGT Toscana Trebbiano. It is made from Tuscan Trebbiano plants selected in Valdarno and planted in the 1970s in the Poggio vineyard at Petrolo, the first vintage was 2014, and the wine is aged on its lees for over 15 months in French oak tonneaux. Fattoria Selvapiana's Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina, in its 2010 vintage, is made from Trebbiano Toscano grapes dried for about five months. Castello di Verrazzano's Vin Santo del Chianti Classico is 100% Trebbiano Toscano, dried naturally on hanging bunches for about three months, then aged in 100-litre kegs for at least 36 months.

• Petrolo Bòggina B: 100% Trebbiano from Tuscan Trebbiano plants selected in Valdarno, first vintage 2014, aged on its lees for over 15 months in French oak tonneaux
• Selvapiana Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina (2010 vintage): Trebbiano Toscano grapes dried for about five months
• Castello di Verrazzano Vin Santo del Chianti Classico: 100% Trebbiano Toscano, dried for about three months, then aged in 100-litre kegs for at least 36 months

Trebbiano Toscano is a highly vigorous, upright variety with good fertility and large, long, cylindrical clusters that produce high yields, between 5 and 20 tonnes per hectare. It buds and flowers late, with good tolerance of spring frosts, and has a long, late ripening period. It adapts well to different environments but prefers warm, sunny climates. It is relatively resistant to botrytis, though susceptible to downy mildew, eutypiose and nematodes. In France it was planted especially for its relative resistance to certain diseases, including grey rot.

• Highly vigorous and upright, with good fertility and large, long cylindrical clusters
• Late budding and flowering, with good tolerance of spring frosts; long, late ripening period
• Relatively resistant to botrytis; susceptible to downy mildew, eutypiose and nematodes
• High yields, between 5 and 20 t/ha

Primary sources: https://www.vivc.de/index.php?r=passport%2Fview&id=12628 ; https://www.cognac.fr/en/discover/the-cognac-region/cognac-grapes-varieties/ ; https://www.petrolo.it/en/wines/boggina-b/ ; https://www.selvapiana.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/VinSanto_2010.pdf ; https://www.verrazzano.com/en/doc-vin-santo-del-chianti-classico/ ; https://www.ruffino.it/products/orvieto ; https://www.oiv.int/public/medias/5888/en-distribution-of-the-worlds-grapevine-varieties.pdf ; https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252F2%252F3%252FD.8ccd09a077f2ec35dc9b/P/BLOB%3AID%3D4625/E/7z?mode=download ; https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252Fa%252Fe%252FD.8495fb8195fb9f88e44b/P/BLOB%3AID%3D4625/E/7z?mode=download Reference sources: https://italianwinecentral.com/trebbiano_family/ ; https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/white/trebbiano ; https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/white/ugni-blanc Last verified 2026-10-20