Corvina is an Italian wine

Italian wine

Italian wine is wine produced in Italy, a country which is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005. Italian wine is exported largely around the world and has...

 grape variety that is sometimes also referred to as Corvina Veronese or Cruina or it is mainly known in Europe as"Cassabria". It is mainly grown in the Veneto region of northeast Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. Corvina is used with several other grapes to create the light red regional wines Bardolino

Bardolino (wine)

Bardolino is an Italian red wine produced along the chain of morainic hills in the province of Verona to the east of Lake Garda. It takes its name from the town Bardolino on the shores of Lake Garda and was awarded Denominazione di origine controllata status in 1968. The blend of grapes used to...

 and Valpolicella

Valpolicella

Valpolicella is a viticultural zone of the province of Verona, Italy, east of Lake Garda. The hilly agricultural and marble-quarrying region of small holdings north of the Adige is famous for wine production. Valpolicella ranks just after Chianti in total Italian Denominazione di Origine...

 that have a mild fruity flavor with hints of almond. These blends include Rondinella

Rondinella

Rondinella is an Italian wine grape mainly grown in the Veneto region of Italy and used in wines such as Valpolicella and Bardolino. It is often blended Corvina, whom DNA evidence has shown is a parent variety, and Molinara. The grape has rather neutral flavors but is favored by growers due to its...

, Molinara

Molinara (grape)

Molinara is a red Italian wine grape grown primarily in the Veneto region of north eastern Italy. It adds acidity to the blends Valpolicella and Bardolino made with Corvina and Rondinella. The wine's high propensity for oxidation, coupled with its low color extract, has caused a decline in favor...

 (and Rossignola for the latter wine). It is also used for the production of Amarone

Amarone

Amarone della Valpolicella, usually known as Amarone, is a typically rich Italian dry red wine made from the partially dried grapes of the Corvina , Rondinella and Molinara varieties. The wine was awarded Denominazione di Origine Controllata status in December 1990...

 and Recioto. In Valpolicella, Corvina generally made up to 70% of the alcohol. It is also used to be made high as 85% in some parts of Southern Italy.

Wines

Corvina produces light to medium body wines with a light crimson coloring. The grapes naturally high acidity can make the wine somewhat tart with a slight, bitter almond note. The finish is sometimes marked with sour cherry notes. In some regions of Valpolicella, producers are using barrel aging to add more structure and complexity to the wine. The small berries of Corvina are low in tannins and color extract but have thick skins that are ideal for drying and protecting the grape from rot.

Viticulture

The Corvina vine ripens late and is prone to producing high yield

Yield (wine)

In viticulture, the yield is a measure of the amount of grapes or wine that is produced per unit surface of vineyard, and is therefore a type of crop yield...

s which can negatively impact wine quality. During the growth cycle of the grape vine, the first few buds do not produce fruit. The vines need to be trained along a pergola

Pergola

A pergola, arbor or arbour is a garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support cross-beams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are trained...

 which allows for a long cane that can produce more buds.

Relationship to other grapes

In the Veneto, Corvina is often confused with Corvinone, a red grape usually used in the production of straw wine

Straw wine

Straw wine, or raisin wine, is a wine made from grapes that have been dried to concentrate their juice. The result is similar to that of the ice wine process, but suitable for warmer climates. The classic method dries clusters of grapes on mats of straw in the sun, but some regions dry them under...

s. For a long time, Corvinone was considered a clone

Cloning

Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...

 of Corvina but DNA profiling has shown that they are two different varieties. In 2005, DNA evidence showed that Corvina was a parent variety to the Venetian grape Rondinella.