The white grape variety originates from Italy. Synonyms are Besgano Bianco di Bobbio, Colombana Bianca, Gragnolata, Gragnolato Bianco, Gragnolo Bianco, Grignola, Grignolato Bianco, Grignolino Bianco, Grignolo, Grignolo Bianco di San Colombano, San Colombano Piccolo and UJva di Milano. The parentage is unknown. Whether there are relations to the varieties Besgano Nero, Biancone di Portoferraio (with which it was long considered identical) or Verdea (synonym Colombana Bianca) is not known. The Colombana Nera variety (with the synonym Besgano Nero) is not a colour mutation. The variety was widespread until the 1950s and was used with Verdea and Malvasia Bianca Lunga for Vin Santo. Today, it is grown in small quantities in the regions of Emilia-Romagna (Piacenza) and Lombardy (Pavia), where it is used as a wine grape and table grape. However, no stocks were reported in 2016 (Kym Anderson).
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Andreas Essl
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