red grape · regional specialty
Frappato
Vittoria, Sicily, Italy
Say it
frahp·pah·toh
double-p is geminate (held slightly longer); final -o is a pure vowel, not diphthong
On the palate
strawberryraspberryred cherryrosecranberrywhite pepper
How you spot it blind: intensely floral, low-tannin Sicilian red antithetical to the island's dense style
The story
First written down · 1760, Vittoria, Sicily (Domenico Sestini, 'Memoriale sui vini di Vittoria')
SNP genotyping confirmed Frappato is a Sangiovese offspring (Frontiers in Plant Science, 2021), refuting earlier assumptions of fully autonomous Sicilian origin; the second parent remains unidentified.
Family tree: Sangiovese × unknown
Where it lives
southeastern Sicily (Ragusa province) · Puglia
Shows up as
still redrosésparklingCerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG