he vine that was once known as Vernaccia di Pergola was actually a native clone of Aleatico, brought here by the city’s founders in 1234. It is therefore a genetic mutation of the vine that came either from the Isle of Elba, or from Gradoli on Lake Bolsena.
Recent research has found early references to Vernaccia Rossa di Pergola dating from 1520. At that time the wine was in high demand in Umbria, where it was bartered for local olive oil. In the early 1800s, the wines of Pergola were also popular in Rome, where they competed with local wines from Castelli Romani.
But production was eventually abandoned and the vine came to the brink of extinction by the early 1980s, when passionate research and recovery efforts were started. Such interests led to the planting in 1985, of an experimental vineyard containing every clone of the vine that could be found in the original production area.
This sparked a renaissance of the vine culture, which in a short time has led to the recovery of the old vineyards. Wine production has been both qualitatively and quantitatively high and sufficient for the wines to be marketed outside the local area, and in 2005, a mere 25 years after the experimental vineyard was planted, Pergola wines have obtained the DOC appellation.
