Albana is a grape variety of ancient origins, known since the time of ancient Rome. It was mentioned in the writings of Cato and Pliny the Elder, and it is very likely that the origin of its name comes from the Latin word albus, which refers to the color white, although some consider it a reference to the Alban Hills, believing that this was the area of origin of the grapes that the Romans brought to the lands around the Rubicon. Over the years, scholarly references to this grape variety have been numerous and sometimes misleading, noting more than 30 terms associated with the vine. Currently, the five most common types (clones) of Albana are Albana della Bagarona (medium-large cluster), Albana della Compadrona (large cluster), Albana della Gaiana (small cluster), Albana della Serra (elongated cluster), and Albana Gentile di Bertinoro (large cluster), which show morphological differences that are sometimes very evident.

Albana wines are traditionally produced in four types: Dry, Amabile (semi-sweet), Sweet, and Passito. The dry version is a wine with a golden color, quite alcoholic and full-bodied, not particularly aromatic, which is usually drunk young. The amabile and sweet versions are not much different from the dry, except for a higher presence of residual sugars. The passito (usually obtained on racks but also on the vine) is an extremely interesting wine, with a full, balanced, and persuasive taste and captivating aromas of candied fruit and jam. Recently, some producers, leveraging the high tannicity that distinguishes Albana’s skins, have started to vinify it “in red,” i.e., by macerating the must with the skins, achieving very interesting results.