What is "baratuciat"

Baratuciat is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy. For most of its history, Baratuciat was used mainly as a table grape with some limited use for wine production with sweet late-harvest dessert wines. On June 23, 2008, the grape was officially added to the Italian registry of wine grape varieties.

In the Piedmontese language, the name Baratuciat is similar to the term used in the local dialect to denote cat's testicles, which ampelographers theorize may be a reference to the morphological shape of the grape's berries or to the characteristic " Sauvignon blanc-like" aromas of the grape, and wine made from it, which can be similar to a cat's litter box and elderflowers.

Today, Baratuciat is found almost exclusively in the province of Turin, particularly in the Susa Valley, where it is found in the villages of Almese, Buttigliera Alta, Rosta, Rubiana and Villar Dora.