Worldwide, a lot of attention is paid to the "genetic erosion" problem, consisting in a variety reduction for certain animals or plant species and due to the extinction of either a variety or breed.
It is so of utmost importance to recover and save those animals or plants at risk of extinction to objectively assess not only their global value but also the particular one since some of their features could be very useful in genetic improvement programmes.
Focusing on the vine varieties, a great effort is made to recover the old ones for two main reasons: the possibility to obtain original wines linked to their territory with well-defined features and also the possibility to find genetic characteristics of resistance to the most common vine phythopaties and of adaptation to specific growing environment.
In Europe, there is a research project called "Grapevine genetic resources network", in compliance with the EEC regulation no. 1467/94, focusing on the preservation, characterization, collection and use of genetic resources in agriculture. Recently the genetic biodiversity safeguard target, also in the viticulture field, has been included in the action 11 of the step 2f of the rural development plan 2000/2006 of the Emilia Romagna region assimilating the EEC regulation 1257/1999, which can help to implement the International Rio Convention on biodiversity.
For sure, improving quality viticulture is based on making the most of the vine genetic resources. So it is extremely important to identify, classify and protect the old local vines at risk of extinction to make unblended wine-tests to assess if they are suitable for quality products and also considering their historical value in a territory with a very old viticulture tradition. The following notes and records is what I found during my visits to what is left from the old Rimini vineyards, chatting with old vine-growers, reading the Ampelographic Bulletins of the Province dated from 1876 to 1879 and also some old local ampelographic notes of the 1920's. Some of the records are quite poor because the described varieties were grown mixed in vineyards and rows and the wine was made with various kinds of grapes, consequently the agronomic characteristics could not be well defined.
My aim is to make an inventory of the varieties typical of the Rimini old viticulture, even though the names of some of them went lost, and help listing those regarded as the most interesting so that their preservation is guaranteed and the agronomic and oenological characteristics can be assessed.