Albana di Romagna

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

  • About

Albana di Romagna, white wine made in central Italy from Albana grapes, much-maligned in spite of its long historic presence in the region (see albana). Unreasonably high yields of 100 hl/ha and careless winemaking by large co-operatives led to Albana’s mediocre reputation, which is why its elevation to docg in 1986 spurred criticism that the DOC system was flawed.

Only a handful of producers, aware of its intrinsic quality, started to give Albana their full attention, planting it on suitable sites (rather than simply where Sangiovese, Romagna’s most important red wine grape, wouldn’t ripen) and drastically reducing yields to overcome Albana’s supposed neutral and tart character.