Gamba Rossa is a red grape variety grown only in a small area in the south of Asti. Better known locally as "Gamba di Pernice", it is believed to owe its name to the fact that the stalk before the colouring of the bunches, which precedes ripening, is bright red, similar also in its form to the legs of partridges, birds that inhabit these territories.
Rare and unknown, it has miraculously survived the phylloxera that devastated many vineyards in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. For many years considered a secondary and endangered grape variety, Gamba Rossa was rediscovered at the beginning of the millennium by a dozen wine-growers, whose vineyards, a total of about six hectares, are located mainly in the town of Calosso, which gives the name of the wine made from its grapes.
GAMBA ROSSA GRAPE
Berry colour: black.Productivity: high and constant.
Leaf: medium-sized, pentagonal, seven-lobed.
Bunch: medium-sized, pyramid-shaped, with one or two well-developed wings, compact, medium-large or large berries, spherical and very pruinose (the bloom is a waxy substance responsible for the visible white film on the grape skin), blue-black colour with purple hues.
Ripening: End of September or Beginning of October.
Wines: Calosso Doc.
