Bonarda

I was looking at some new listings in our area and a Bonarda popped up that looked like it might be interesting.

Then I started researching and was reminded of a fact I had misplaced (OK, OK - forgotten). The Bonarda from Italy is NOT the Bonarda from Argentina, which is in fact Charbono (also called Douce Noir) - put me in mind of Inglenook that used to make very decent Charbono in the old days (think they stopped in the 90s)

Not sure how two different grapes ended up being called by the same name, but I have no experience with the South American version other than the Inglenook connection.

Can anyone recommend a producer for me to do some research on? The one coming here is from Tilia, and offshoot of the Catena family.

Not sure how two different grapes ended up being called by the same name

In general it is not unusual for the same name to be used for different varieties (and of course different names to be used for the same variety). Grapes were given names by local communities, and were bound to be inconsistent and based on misunderstandings.

In this case, both varieties were thought to originate in Piedmonte, which is probably where the confusion arose.

There are other famous cases of grape variety misidentification and confusion:

o The merlot grown in Chile turns out to be carmenere, a Bordeaux variety that fell out of favor post-phylloxera.

o Two varieties with 'gamay' in the name are grown in the US West Coast, but neither is the gamay noir a jus blanc grown in Beaujolais. Napa gamay is actually valdiguie and gamay beaujolais is actually a clone of pinot noir.

-Paul W.

There are other famous cases of grape variety misidentification and confusion:

o The merlot grown in Chile turns out to be carmenere, a Bordeaux variety that fell out of favor post-phylloxera.

o Two varieties with 'gamay' in the name are grown in the US West Coast, but neither is the gamay noir a jus blanc grown in Beaujolais. Napa gamay is actually valdiguie and gamay beaujolais is actually a clone of pinot noir.

-Paul W.

Just to be clear, SOME of the "merlot" grown in Chile was found to be carmenere. I think most (if not all) of that is now labeled carmenere, though really most of it goes into to blends.

3 varieties with gamay in name are grown on West Coast. Those labelled "Gamay Noir" are the same variety as in Beaujolais (Steve Edmunds can correct me if I am wrong). I believe "Napa gamay" and "gamay Beaujolais" are no longer permitted as front label designations.