Molecular and morphological characterization of the grapevine cultivars “Italia” in the Ica and Cañete valleys (Peru)

The denomination of “Uva de Italia” or “Italia” is commonly used by growers to refer to a group of varieties used from the colonial times to making a brandy of Pisco with muscat aroma. Previous work have demonstrated that Uva de Italia corresponds in fact to the variety Muscat of Alexandria, a widely spread variety around the world and in South America. However, the distinction between “Italia Dorada” and “Italia Rosada” is usually made, in allusion to the color variations observed in the berries. Our aim was to characterize 5 samples collected in vineyards from the valleys of Ica and Cañete. The genotypes were identified using 13 molecular markers of nuclear simple sequence repeat, and 23 morphological descriptors according to OIV. Our results showed that four genotypes were identified as Muscat of Alexandria while the other corresponded to variety well-known in Argentina as Moscatel Rosado or Uva Pastilla in Chile respectively. Moscatel Rosado showed functionally female flowers, with variable berries size and color in the range from greenish yellow through pink. This is the first identification of Moscatel Rosado as a variety present in the Peruvian vineyards and would allow its use in the pisco industry with distinctive aromatic characteristics. Keywords: Italia, Muscat of Alexandria, Moscatel Rosado, variety identification, parentage analysis, microsatellites, Pisco.