Freisa is a red
Italian wine grape variety grown in the
Piedmont region of north-west
Italy, primarily in
Monferrato and in the
Langhe, but also further north in the provinces of
Turin and
Biella. Freisa is a vigorous and productive vine whose round, blue-black grapes are
harvested in early October. The three-lobed leaves are relatively small and the bunches are elongated in form. By the 1880s it had become one of the major Piedmontese grapes, and in that period its cultivation was stimulated by the vine’s resistance to the
downy mildew caused by the
Plasmopara viticola fungus. Wines made from the Freisa grape are red and usually somewhat
sweet and lightly
sparkling, or foaming. Still and fully sparkling versions are also produced, however, as are dry and more decidedly sweet styles. In the
Canavese there is also a
rosé which can be made primarily from Freisa according to
Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) regulations.