Croatina is a red wine variety that is preferably grown in Oltrepo Pavese south of the Po in northern Italy and also comes from there. Curiously, the grape variety first mentioned there at the end of the 19th century is called Bonarda, which can easily lead to confusion with the Bonarda Piemontese variety, which, as the name suggests, comes from Piedmont, but plays almost no role there anymore. The medium to late ripening variety is only slightly susceptible to classic vine diseases such as powdery mildew and downy mildew, but is particularly sensitive to heat in very warm summers. The low-tannin variety can be easily processed into still wines, which should be drunk cool or slightly warmer young. The very delicately sparkling versions of the Bonarda, the Bonarda Vivace, are more interesting. Whether cool or a little warmer, you drink it young and according to your personal taste. A good 3,000 hectares of Croatina are produced in and around Oltrepo Pavese. Otherwise, there are hardly any cultivation areas outside the area of origin in Italy; it is not related to the Bonarda variety, which is grown on a large scale in Argentina, and has nothing else in common with it.
This grape variety is also known by the name of:
Bonarda
