Bombino Bianco - Relationship To Other Grapes

Relationship To Other Grapes

For many years the relationship between Bombino bianco and Bombino nero was thought to be similar to Pinot noir and Grenache to Pinot blanc and Grenache blanc, respectively, in that the two grapes were color mutations of the same variety. However, DNA analysis in the early 21st century showed that while the two grapes are likely very closely related (either as siblings or parent-offspring) they are, nonetheless, two distinct grape varieties.

Similarly, Bombino bianco was long thought to be the Trebbiano d'Abruzzo grape grown throughout the Abruzzo region but while DNA profiling has not conclusively established the relationship between the two varieties (apart from both not being related to the Tuscan/Cognac grape Trebbiano/Ugni blanc), since 1994 they have been listed as a separate varieties in the official grape register of the Italian government and in the regulations for the Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC.

DNA analysis has further confirmed that Bombino bianco is not related to the Marche grape Verdicchio of which it shares several synonyms but that Bombino bianco is identical to the Ottonese grape that has long been grown in the Lazio region. Ampelographers has also discovered from DNA that Bombino bianco is likely one of the parent varieties to the Puglia grapes Impigno and Moscatello Selvatico.