Coda di Volpe Bianca is a white wine grape native to Italy where it is found in the Campania region.
Its name refers to its large grape bunches which have the long, curled shape of a fox’s tail or ‘coda di volpe’ in Italian. “Bianca” distinguishes this variety from other, possibly extinct Coda di Volpes.
Coda di Volpe is often mistaken for Caprettone or Pallagrello Bianco, and vice versa. Though Coda di Volpe is o!cially the primary grape variety of Vesuvio DOC, Caprettone is more often used for Vesuvio wines.
Wine style: Low in acidity. Can be steely and minerally if grown on volcanic soils and much richer from other soils, with tropical fruit aromas.
Wines: Campania: Sannio DOC. | Vesuvio DOC. | Irpinia DOC. Also numerous IGPs throughout the region. Coda di Volpe is also permitted in small amounts in Campania’s Fiano di Avellino DOCG and Greco di Tufo DOCG.
Wine styles: Mostly dry, still, white but the DOC of Vesuvio does allow for sparkling and dessert styles. Monovarietal examples do exist but most Coda di Volpe wines are blends.
Bibliography
See Ian D’Agata, Native Wine Grapes of Italy (University of California Press, 2014).
Italian Wine Unplugged (Positive Press, 2017), p.94