We find the first mention of Bondola between the red grape varieties of Romance Switzerland in a eighteenth century book in German language (Schinz, 1786) that we can translate so: "Bondola is a grape [with bunch] very short, spherical berries, of nice, sweet and intense flavor, that provides a fine and valued wine.".

The citations for this variety are always limited to the area of the Swiss Ticino canton and the neighboring territories of Piedmontese Val d'Ossola; the 'Negrone' mentioned among the grapes of lower Ossola valley in the late eighteenth century (Albertazzi, 1791), could match to our cultivar that is still cultivated in the same area with this synonym.

Bondola is also a synonym of the Central European variety Mohrenkönig shown by Viala and Vermorel dictionnaire (1910) as a grape from Styria and High Tyrol, also present in Slovenia with other synonyms.

A description of the modern Bondola accompanied by excellent photos has been recently published in Switzerland (Dupraz and Spring, 2010).

Bondola is currently grown on limited surfaces in Ticino canton and is present in Val d'Ossola only sporadically in the older vineyards.

Although opposed by the spread of Merlot and other imported varieties most suitable for the production of superior wines, Bondola maintains some importance for the production of wines in the Ticino canton area; these wines are characterized by an intense color, with violet hues and interesting olfactory notes as raspberry, blackcurrant and spice, but sometimes slightly herbaceous if produced from not fully ripe grapes.