Pallagrello nero

Pallagrello nero is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in Campania. The grape has a long history in the region and, like the similarly named Pallagrello bianco, was one the varieties planted in 1775 by architect and engineer Luigi Vanvitelli in the fan-shaped Vigna del Ventaglio vineyard created for the royal palace of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (Ferdinand IV of Naples) in Caserta. Following the phylloxera epidemic of the mid-19th century and the economic devastation of the World Wars of the early 20th century, plantings of Pallagrello nero declined greatly and the variety was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered growing in an abandoned Campanian vineyard in the 1990s.

Despite having similar names and both varieties originated in Campania, Pallagrello nero is not a color mutation of the white Campanian wine grape Pallagrello bianco though DNA profiling has not determined yet if the two varieties are closely related. Likewise, despite Pallagrello nero also being known under the synonym of Coda di Volpe nera, DNA analysis has ruled out a relationship with the white Campanian wine grape, Coda di Volpe, which, itself, is also known under the synonym Pallagrello and has similar looking "fox tail-shaped" grape clusters. There is some DNA evidence to suggest that Pallagrello nero maybe related to an old red Campania variety grown in the province of Caserta known as Casavecchia but the exact extent of that relationship is not yet known.

Ampelographers believe that Pallagrello nero is likely native to Campania and originated in what is now the province of Caserta. The name Pallagrello is likely derived from the Italian word pagliarello which refers to the straw mat that some grape varieties (such as Pallagrello bianco) were laid on after harvest to dry out before fermentation to produce straw wine.

...
Wikipedia