Skip to main content
Aleatico: From Greece to the Etruscans — Tuscia’s Most Historic Grape Enters the 21st Century!
The winemaking vocation of Tuscia is shaped and enhanced by numerous native and endemic grape varieties. Each variety has its own story and origin, tracing back into the mists of time.
A perfect example is Aleatico, which finds its highest qualitative expression in Tuscia. The most fascinating tradition about this grape’s origin traces it back to the island of Crete. There, Aleatico used to ripen in July, earning it the name Lugliaticum — which later evolved into today’s Aleatico. Thanks to Greek trade routes, this grape reached Magna Graecia, specifically Salento, where the Etruscans likely discovered it and then spread it throughout Tuscia.
Most vineyards worldwide consist of cloned individuals from a mother vine — genetically identical to the original plant. For example, Italy’s most cultivated grape, Sangiovese, has over 20 officially selected clones which, when grown in the same terroir, show the same traits (productivity, bunch size, berry count, etc.). For Aleatico, however, no official Italian clone existed before the thesis work of Ludovico, the Botti family’s in-house agronomist. From 2001 to 2004, Ludovico collaborated with the University of Tuscia, studying the population of Aleatico vines in the historic area of Gradoli, north of Lake Bolsena, where even the Romans carried out vineyard zoning for quality wine production. Through this research, the best-performing plant was selected and registered as the mother vine for Italy’s first official Aleatico clone.
In 2010, Ludovico and his brothers decided to plant this clone at their organic estate, Trebotti. The Bludom — Trebotti’s passito version of Aleatico — has actually been produced since 2006, thanks to a few old Aleatico vines still growing near Castiglione in Teverina. Traditionally, old vineyards in this area (40–70 years old) were a mix of Violone, Sangiovese (local Grechetto Rosso), and a few Aleatico vines, which always added an extra touch to Teverina wines.
Aleatico has long been used as a “sacramental wine” thanks to its soft tannins and its signature wild rose aroma — the rosehip bush being common across Tuscia’s wild areas. Naturally suited for sweet winemaking, Aleatico has inspired Trebotti to produce a traditional passito, staying true to local heritage while embracing innovation.
In collaboration with the University of Tuscia in Viterbo, Trebotti developed a “techno-ecological” drying chamber made from cork and Cimini Mountain wood — all natural materials that can be reused at the end of their life cycle. After harvest, bunches are carefully hand-selected, discarding any underripe or damaged fruit. On a sorting table, only perfect clusters are placed into special drying crates, stacked inside the chamber with care to ensure airflow between bunches. This spacing is crucial to prevent moisture buildup and mold, as the fruit can no longer defend itself once detached from the vine.
The dehydration system is also innovative. Two thermohygrometers — one outside the cellar and one inside the drying chamber — communicate with a computer that manages an airflow system. When outside air has ideal temperature and humidity, it’s drawn into the chamber, gently drying the grapes without using energy-intensive air conditioners or dehumidifiers. If it’s too humid, rainy, or hot outside, the computer halts intake and activates internal recirculation to keep air moving, ensuring even drying and avoiding chemical treatments that other producers often resort to. Trebotti’s drying chamber saves up to 90% energy compared to standard drying rooms of the same size.
In about 50 days, the grapes lose 50% of their weight, concentrating their sugars. Finally, the dried grapes are ready for pressing and fermentation — transforming into one of Italy’s finest sweet red wines. Typically, one kilo of grapes makes one bottle of wine; with this passito process, one kilo yields just a single glass!
How did Trebotti choose the name Bludom for its passito?
Ludovico’s agronomy studies took him to ENSAM (École Nationale Supérieure d’Agronomie de Montpellier) in France for an Erasmus term in 2002. Trebotti would be founded the following year, but Ludovico was already deep into Aleatico research. Dreaming aloud with Giuseppe — another Italian abroad, an expert in agri-food marketing — they wondered what he’d name an Aleatico wine if he ever made one. Giuseppe coined a playful acronym from his name: Botti LUDOvico Maria — thus, Bludom. Four years later, in 2006, the BLUDOM was born with the first 800 bottles. A stunning wine: sweet, fresh, with hints of rosehip, berries, and black cherry, and a surprisingly clean, slightly astringent finish that keeps the palate refreshed. Perfect with desserts and fruit, but also incredible with aged and blue cheeses or game, thanks to this freshness and cleansing power. For these reasons, Bludom always closes Trebotti’s EcoWineExperience, Sunday lunches, and tasting events — sometimes paired with dessert, other times with cheese, as during a recent vertical tasting matched with different ages of organic pecorino.
The winery also turns this wine into Aleatico passito jelly — adding just a touch of organic agar agar (a natural seaweed thickener) to create a jelly perfect for pairing with cheeses, grilled meat, or as a garnish for desserts like custard tarts.
Thus, millennia of history, enriched by innovation and research, come together in a wine that is not only delicious and unique but deeply respectful of the land and environmentally sustainable.
