Manzoni Bianco: biography and history

Prof. Luigi Manzoni, graduated at faculty of Agricolture of Pisa, was nominated headmaster of School for Viticulture and oenology of Conegliano Veneto, the first oenological school in Italy, founded in 1876.

Biography

Luigi Manzoni (1888-1968) got his degree at faculty of Agricolture of Pisa in 1912 and then the 1st of November of that year had been engaged as researcher by the School for Viticulture and oenology of Conegliano and held the chair of Science and vegetative pathologies. In 1933 he had been nominated headmaster until 1958 and thanks to his will the school had been re-opened after the end of Second World War.
Luigi Manzoni was not only an excellent teacher, but also an important researcher and experimenter as testified by 70 publications, especially concerning the vines’ anatomy and their witer requirements together with A.Puppo.
He had also been elected Mayor of Conegliano from Dicember 1946 to February 1949.

History

In Europe, since the middle of Nineteenth Century, due to the arrival of several new vine’s diseases favoured by the commercial relationship between New and Old continent, the viticulture had registered a considerable period of crisis. Therefore had been necessary a vine’s genetic improvement trough crossing and hybridizing, also thanks to Mendel genetics’ studies initially to obtain new table grape’s varieties and then for wine grapes, with the first experiments of Prof. Muller who got the famous Muller Thurgau from a cross.

In Italy this research about wine grapes began on 1924 thanks to Prof. Manzoni who, together with Prof. Dalmasso, had planned a series of crosses utilizing international varieties with autochthonous grapes within 1924 -1930 and 1930-1935 to obtain one new red and white grapes.

The crosses made in the first period are characterized by 2 numbers which differentiates the wine from the several hybrids made by Mr Manzoni and they derive from the exact position in the vineyard it was obtained from, while those made in the second part of research are characterized by the same numeration including also number 0: so 6.0.13 means the thirteenth vine in the sixth row.

Since Forties had began the diffusion of new varieties, rosè grape Trebbiano x Traminer 1.50, red grape Prosecco x Cabernet Sauvignon 2.15 and white grape Riesling Renano x Pinot Bianco named Incrocio Manzoni 6.0.13, known also as Manzoni Bianco