Global warming is endangering maintenance of optimal grape composition in white varietals aimed at sparkling wine making due to difficulties to maintain adequate acidity and fresh aromas. These troubles are being faced by the main white varietal of the Colli Piacentini district, named Ortrugo. Its vegetative and reproductive behavior was compared over 3 years with that of other minor autochthonous white varietals. Criteria set for adequate grape composition under sparkling vinification (total soluble solids at 20-21 • Brix) and titratable acidity (TA) ≥ 6.5 g/L combined with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on the measured variables allowed a thinnning down of the initial group of 17 to 7 varietals including Ortrugo,