Pietro Stara è autore del libro “Il discorso del vino” (ZIC Milano, 2013), con cui ha vinto, nel 2015, il premio per la saggistica edita del Centro Pavesiano – CEPAM e del libro “Il vino e la storia” (Sabatelli editore, Savona 2025). La sua ricerca si concentra sul mondo del vino, esplorando temi legati alla sua storia, alla viticoltura e all’enologia. Collabora con diverse testate giornalistiche, sia online che cartacee, approfondendo le tematiche relative al settore. Oltre al suo impegno nel giornalismo, insegna antropologia culturale e sociologia dei consumi, come docente a contratto, presso l’Università di Scienze Gastronomiche di Pollenzo.

Pietro Stara

Pietro Stara, autore di "Il discorso del vino" e "Il vino e la storia". Scrittore ed esperto che esplora cultura, storia e filosofia del vino.

Pietro Stara - Autore | Il discorso del vino, Il vino e la

The history of grignolino: roots and legacy of a great Piedmontese grape Dive into the enigmatic world of grignolino with this compelling historical investigation by renowned researcher Pietro Stara. Using an "evidential paradigm"—a detective-like approach—Stara uncovers the mysteries and complex identities of a grape variety that has shaped Piedmontese viticulture, yet whose history has often been overlooked. A historical enigma unfolds The journey begins in the 13th century (1249), tracing the grape’s earliest footsteps back to the monks of Sant’Evasio in Casale Monferrato. At the time, it was known as "Berbesino" or "Barbesino". It wasn’t until a 1614 inventory of the Casale Castle that the name "grignolino" finally appeared in official records. Key highlights of the research: The identity quest: discover how 19th-century ampelographers like Demaria, Leardi, and the traveler Giorgio Gallesio solved the puzzle of its many synonyms, confirming that the "barbesino" of Alessandria and the "grignolino" of Asti were, in fact, the same soul. The etymological debate: the book tackles the fierce disputes linking grignolino to barbera, debunking myths through the rigorous historical analysis of scholars like Senator Desana and Dalmasso. A sparkling past: in a surprising revelation, the text explores grignolino’s role as a pioneer of Italian sparkling wine. Long before its current still-wine reputation, it was crafted using the Méthode Champenoise, winning prestigious awards and ranking as a top choice for spumante production as late as 1924. The white mystery: the investigation even touches upon the elusive "white grignolino," a rare variety mentioned in historical texts and immortalized in the famous 1858 wax fruit models by Francesco Garnier Valletti.

1. History, mathematics and abduction

2. The nineteenth-century ampelographies and Grignolino, or Barbesino

3. Grignolino - TABLE XXI

4. Giorgio Gallesio. The travel journals

5. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries

6. Aldo di Ricaldone and the erroneous attribution of barbesine grapes to ancient Barbera

7. Desana and the refutation of the theses proposed by Father Coppo and then by Giovanni Aldo di Ricaldone

8. A viticultural sub-lexicon

9. A white barbesino or a white Grignolino?

10. Grignolino and the traditional method

11. Documentary appendix

12. Bibliography

PAPERBACK VERSION - Paperback

PAPERBACK VERSION - Hardcover

A viticultural sub-lexicon In the meticulous and invaluable philological work in which Thomas Hohnerlein-Buchinger engaged, there are some hypotheses for the etymological reconstruction of the three types of grapes: regarding Barbissina, the scholar tends, differently from what was defined by Emilio Faccioli, to believe that the derivation was BARDITIUM → → . goes back to a ← ; Emilio Faccioli had instead hypothesized, referring to the work of Pietro de' Crescenzi, , that these grapes took their name from : or , from late Latin : sheep — grape appreciated by sheep. In a note, then, Faccioli shadows the hypothesis that the grape was also related to the previous one, although not better identifiable¹. barbisino berbizino Barbosino *BARBOSUS BARBA Ruralia commoda Berbigene berbigano berbix Locerina ( — species of vine and grape — [additions to LEI s.v. BARBITIUM (V.b.7: 284), Mitterpacher 6,981 1805, Fabbroni 151 164A, Acerbi 6A87, Berbigene (ca. 1265, Crescenzi, Faccioli 1048, 157, Berbexino (16A6, Bartekasale; Sabotto.isso=qq M),14 se=z7, Barbesino (146A, Acerbi 41) 14M8, AmpelografiaItal 9,41) 1059, Molon V047, Piedmontese (RiqantCAlbino; Gribaudo-Reglie), ossol.prealp. (vallanz.) a Sysling, Milanese Cherubini, lomb.or. (berg.) ! Tiraboschi Gpp, vogher. (iiga) ib.; (iiga) ib., (19MM, Tanara M6), (146A, Acerbi 60A).* Barbissina uva barbisina barbižina barbisinna barbisè barbizóŋ verbzėŋ Barbosino Economia Barbosina ¹. Emilio Faccioli (ed.), , in PIEN RE DNEREVNI, Einaudi, Turin, 1048, note 11, p. 11 L'arte della cucina in Italia. Libri di ricette e trattati sulla civiltà della tavola dal XIV al XIX secolo

Roots and Evidence of a Great Piedmontese Grape Variety - The History of Grignolino