Pepella

The Pepella grape is cultivated only on the Amalfi coast, mainly in the municipalities of Tramonti, Ravello and Scala. The first mention dates back to Rovasenda in 1877 who mentions it in the “Essay about universal ampelography”, referring to a table grape in the province of Naples called Pepe. It is estimated that its introduction in the Amalfi coast is rather recent, in any case not earlier than the late nineteenth century. Its name is due to a phenomenon that leads to disparities in the size of the berries, so the cluster will generally have some normal berries and others the size of a peppercorn. This grape is now almost eradicated - the few remaining strains are very old and can only be found in the vineyards of ancient cultivation and usually planted with other varieties of the Amalfi coast, as Biancatenera, Biancazita and Ripolo, with which composes the assembly of Doc Costa Amalfi white, in the province of Salerno. The berry is white, small or very small, uneven, elliptical with yellow green, slightly waxy skin. Its bunch is medium long, tapered pyramidal, winged, and sparse with medium, pentagonal, five-lobed leaves. The Pepella grape gives a straw yellow color wine with green hues. The fragrance is fruity with notes of apricot, honey and exotic fruits. On the palate is fresh with good body. Its features make it suitable for drying.