page_title: Vernaccia di Oristano
section_title: Relationship to other grapes
hierarchical_section_title: Vernaccia di Oristano / Viticulture / Relationship to other grapes
caption_attribution_description: Grenache grapes from Santa Barbara California
context_page_description: Vernaccia di Oristano is a white Italian wine grape variety grown on the island of Sardinia which makes a wide range of wine styles for the Denominazione di origine controllata of Vernaccia di Oristano based in the province of Oristano. This includes both dry and sweet wines as well as fortified "sherry-like" wines aged in a solera. The grape has a long history on the island of Sardinia with Sardinians claiming that consuming ample quantities of wine produced from the grape as being responsible for low instances of malaria on the island.
  Despite the similarities in their names and synonyms, Vernaccia di Oristano is a distinct variety that is not related to the Tuscan wine grape Vernaccia used to make Vernaccia di San Gimignano. The grape also does not appear to be related to the red wine grapes Aleatico or Grenache which are known as Vernaccia in different parts of Italy.
context_section_description: Despite similarities in names and synonyms, DNA analysis has shown that Vernaccia di Oristano is a distinct variety that is not closely related to the several other grapes that share the name Vernaccia. This includes the Tuscan wine grape Vernaccia used to make the Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) wine of Vernaccia di San Gimignano as well as the red wine grapes Aleatico which is known as Vernacia di Pergola in southern Italy and Grenache which is known under the synonym of Vernaccia nera in the Marche region and Umbria.
  DNA has showed a possible close genetic relationship of parent-offspring between Vernaccia di Oristano and the white Emilia-Romagna wine grape Santa Maria used to make Vin Santo style wines in the province of Piacenza.
caption: While Grenache (pictured) is known under the synonym of Vernaccia nera in some parts of Italy, it doesn't appear to have any close genetic relationship with Vernaccia di Oristano.
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