Glossary & Pronunciation Guide (Italy)

Abboccato

slightly sweet

Acerbo

(a-chay-rboh) tart, "green"

Aceto

(a chay to)vinegar, usually made with a wine base

Alcool

alcohol

Amabile

(amah-bi-lay) off dry (semi-sweet)

Amaro

bitter

Annata

vintage year

Asciutto

( a-shoe-t- toh) bone dry

Azienda

(ah-tsi-en the-a) (also Agricola, Agraria and Vitivinicola)- describe a vineyard or estate that grows all or most of its grapes to be bottled under its own labels; not sold off in bulk

Barbaresco

Top Piedmont wine made with Nebbiolo grapes

Barbera

semi-classic grape commonly grown in the Piedmont (Piemonte) region and most of northern Italy

Barolo

Another top Piedmont red wine, made with the Nebbiolo grapes

Barrique

( Bah-reek)the Bordeaux term for a 225 litre wine barrel used to age wines

Bianco

white (wine)

Botte

wine Cask or Large Barrel. Usually made of oak, also sometimes made of Chestnut wood Slovenian oak is quite common in Italy , particularly in Tuscany

Botticella

(botee-chay-l-la) small wine cask

Bottiglia

(boh-tee-lya) bottle

Brunello di Montalcino

(brew-nel-lo dee montal-chino) Top Tuscan red wine, made with Sangiovese clone in Montalcino , Tuscany

Brut

(broot)dry; used for sparkling wines such as Franciacorta DOCG

Cantina

cellar, winery

Cantina Sociale

( so-chaa-lay)co-operative winery

Casa Vinicola

wine house or merchant ("commerciante)" who bottle wines made with other cellar's wines

Cascina

(cash-eena) farmhouse, wine estate

Castello

castle

Classico

( class-ee-ko) the historic core of a DOC marked zone (such as Orvieto Classico)

Consorzio

consortium of producers that sets standards and promotes wines of a certain appellation or region.

Cortese

( cor-tay-zeh) White grape used to make dry and expensive Gavi in Piedmont

Corvina

red grape used with two other grapes, Rondinella and Molinara, to create the light red regional blends known as "Bardolino" and "Valpolicella" wines in northeast Italy. Also called "Corvina Veronese"

Cru

French term, used internationally, to mean the wine estate's best vineyards

DOC

"Denominazione di Origine Controllata" (controlled place of origin), indicating details about where the wine comes from, the grapes used and how it was produced (including the viticulture techniques).

DOCG

"Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita" (controlled and guaranteed place name), which entails the same as DOC, but with stricter rules

Dolce

(though-l-chay) sweet

Dolcetto

(though-l-chet-toh) dry wine red grape, predominately grown in northern Italy (especially Piedmont )

Enologo

enologist (winemaker)

Enoteca

(a-no-tay-ka) Wine shop or wine bar

Enotecnico

winemaking technician

Etichetta

( a-tee-ket-ta) wine label

Ettaro

hectare (2.471 acres)

Ettolitro

hectolitre (100 liters), the technical standard used to measure wine volume

Fattoria

farm and/or estate. Usually suggests a number of small wine/olive oil estates, and working farms

Fiasco

the classic Chianti bottles from the 70's, covered in straw, that symbolized low quality. They made Chianti notorious till the better quality brought it back in fashion.

Frascati

light white wine that comes from Lazio Region (which includes Rome )

Freisa

medium bodied red grape used to make still, sweet and Frizzante wines in Piemonte

Frizzante/ Frizzantino

slightly sparkling. Not fully sparkling like ‘Spumante’.

Frutti di bosco

"forest fruits", referring to wine flavors such as blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries.

Governo

Tuscan practice (called "Governo all'uso Toscano) of drying late harvested grapes to add to the fermented wine, setting off a secondary fermentation to enrich body, color and flavor

Grappa

Italian digestive made from the pomace of grapes. Can be aromatic and flavoured

Grechetto

(gray-kay-t-toh) Main grape used to make Orvieto in Umbria

IGT

"Indicazione Geografica Tipica" (typical geographic name), referring to wines that may be produced from a large variety of grapes from one geographic area. Used by emerging wine producers or the established one for experimental wines.

Liquoroso

fortified wine

Madre

Residual wine from earlier vintages, left in barrels to guide the transformation of must into wine (like in ‘Vin Santo’)

Malvasia

an ancient grape, cultivated in Europe for two thousand years; both in red and white colours. Malvasia Nera is grown in Puglia , in Southern Italy . Malvasia is one of the two white varietals allowed in DOC Chianti. Also a main ingredient in Frascati.

Marchio

brand name

Maso

a vineyard holding in Trentino

Metodo Classico

champagne method, where the second fermentation takes place in the Bottle and wines rest in "pupitres" until their disgorgement

Millesimé/ Millesimato

can be used for sparkling and also still wines, indicating the year of vintage.

Muffa Nobile

noble rot (Botrytis cinerea)

Nebbiolo

the black grape used to produce rich Barolo and Barbaresco wines in Piemonte

Nero

black

Passito / Passita

used to refer to partially dried grapes and also the sweet unctuous wines are made from them. Tuscan Vin Santo is an example of a Passito.

Podere

small farm or estate- in Tuscany a Podere is usually part of a larger "Fattoria"

Produttore

(pro-doot-toh-ray) producer

Recioto

(ray-cho-toh) wine made from partly dried grapes in the Passito style. Usually sweet and strong.

Rosato

(ro-za-toh)rosé wine

Rosso

(raw-s-so) red wine

Sangiovese

(sahN-jo-vay-zhe) main red grape varietal used in Tuscan red wines

Sans année

(abbreviated as S.A. ) - French phrase used in Italian winemaking to mean non vintage

Scelto

(shel-toh)means "selected", referring to certain DOC wines

Secco

dry

Semisecco

off dry, medium sweet. Used when referring generally to sparkling wines

Soave

( so-ah-vay) white wine from Soave region in Veneto

Solaio

refers to the loft where the grapes drying to make Passito wines are kept. In Tuscany , it is also referred to as a ‘Vin Solaio’.

Spumante

literally means "foaming", refers to sparkling wine

Super Tuscan

a term coined in the 80’s by wine journalists referring to the new high quality styles of wine that emerged in Tuscany in the 70's, using international varietals (Cab Sauv, Merlot, etc) with or without the local Sangiovese. This initially denied them the quality wine status for breaking local laws

Superiore

classification term that denotes a DOC or DOCG wine that meets standards above the norm (longer aging, special single vineyard, higher alcohol content etc)

Tenuta

(tay-noo-ta) Farm or wine estate

Terroir

French term that defines the harmonic relationship between vineyard site, soil, climate and grape variety

Tonneau

Bordeaux term for 900 litre barrels In Italy it also means 550 litre barrels

Uva

grape

Vecchio

"old", used to describe some DOC wines ("invecchiato" means "aged" and "stravecchio" means very old.)

Vernaccia

(vay-r-nah-cha) white grape varietal, used in San Gimignano , Tuscany

Vigna/ Vigneto

(vee-nya) vineyard

Vignaiolo/ Viticoltore

grape grower who cultivates grapes for wine production

Vin Santo

"holy wine", this delicious wine is made from grapes dried after the harvest and kept in small barrels in "Vinsantaia" (aging rooms) where seasonal heat and cold are essential to the extended fermentation process

Vinacce

(veen-ah-chay)grape skins, seeds and pulp left after the must or fermented wine has been pressed. This is the base used to make grappa.

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

(monte-pool-chah-no) top red wine from Tuscany , made with a clone of Sangiovese, called Prugnolo Gentile

Vino Novello

‘new’ wine, meaning young wine- to be drunk within a year of bottling and produced using carbonic maceration, like Beaujolais

Vite

vine

Vitigno

vine or grape variety

Vivace

"lively", used to refer to the slight sparkle in some wines

Zuccheri Residui

residual sugar

 

   

 

 
 
 
 

 
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