This variety of grape is mainly used to make traditional wines by small wineries. It is known by a few other names such as Bundula, Crnina, Bonda, Brilegler, Bistriska and Bondoletta.

The wines are best consumed well as they may develop false taste on aging. Varietals made from this grape are very rare to find. The grape variety has lately been very unpopular and is therefore not grown in any other part of the world.

They are used for making table wines by the name of ‘nostrano’ which means ‘ours’ in Italian. The wine is like by of the local population because of its fairly high acidity while some do not like it because of its low alcohol content.

It is not very costly and can be bought by a majority of the people. Though it is not famous outside Switzerland, in Ticino it is sold in almost every wine shop.

Some old winemakers also make a few quantity of varietal from Bondola grape. There wines are not sold on a large scale because there is not special taste which makes it different from other wines.

The grape has been growing in the area from quite a long time and should therefore be preserved for the next generations too.

Origin of Bondola

Bondola is among those grape varieties which has absolutely no traces about their origin. It was once counted among the common grape in the area, but now the use and the production has gone so down that it is possible that the variety will seize to exist in the coming few years.

Since the introduction of better grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the year 1906 the producers are switching very quickly and as a result there are only a few vineyards left cultivating Bondola grape variety.

Earlier, many grape varieties were found to be similar to Bondola, but later tests confirmed that there is no exact relation of Bondola to any other grape variety.

Merlot had the same properties with a better yield and more resistance to vine hazards and was therefore opted to be used instead of Bondola grape variety.

Features

Bondola wine grapes are dark skinned. The berries are medium to large sized and bunches are not very compact. The berries do not ripen very early and so the vine is saved from spring frost.

The wines made from this grape give flavours and aroma of cherries. The wines do not age well and are to be consumed young. The acidity of the wine is high while the alcohol content is not so high.

This aspect has kept the wine alive in the market of Ticino. It is most popularly used as a table wine by the local people. It has not yet reached to areas outside Switzerland as grapes with better taste and yield showing similar properties as Bondola grape were introduced.

No more experiments on the wine are being done to explore its taste. The wine is merely used as a table wine in the region!

A photo posted by Veronica (@ancamanco_27) on Oct 5, 2015 at 9:44am PDT

Salted dishes and sushi are among the dishes which can be enjoyed with Bondola grape wine. Roasted vegetables with haloumi cheese are often taken with this wine. Spaghetti can be taken with this wine.

It is also possible to consume the wine without taking in any other food item. The alcohol content is also not so high that you will need to neutralise it.

The grape has been in the records of grapes for many years and was once planted in a number of areas in Switzerland.

The grape will soon extinguish and so if you get a chance to visit the area, you must try the wine so as to keep it in our memory. The wine is rarely available on the internet to be order if you do see chances of visiting the area.

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Wines with Bondola grapes