Fundamentals Flashcards
How many administrative regions (regioni) are there in Italy
20
What % of Italy is covered by mountains and hills?
77%
What are the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea?
Sardegna and Sicilia
What are the two main mountain ranges in Italy?
The Alps and the Apennines
What is the highest peak in the Apennines?
Massif of Gran Sasso in Abruzzo
What is the highest peak in the Alps?
Monte Bianco
What type of soils are the hills of Langhe, Monferrato and Chianti?
Sedimentary soils
What type of soils are the hills of Franciacorta and those around Lake Garda (Bardolino)?
Morainic soils
What type of soils are the hills of Veneto, Toscana and Campania?
Volcanic soils
Which plain is the largest in Italy?
Padan Plain
What is often referred to as “the sweet spot” for ideal vineyard land?
mid-slope of a hill
What is the orientation of a slope also known as?
Aspect
What term is used to refer to vineyards that are cultivated under extremely difficult conditions?
Heroic
What term is used to refer to vineyards whose traditional cultivation methods and techniques are tied to a specific place?
Historic
What are the four basins of the Mediterranean Sea?
Adriatic Sea
Ionian Sea
Tyrrhenian Sea
Ligurian Sea
What river has the tributaries of Tanaro, Dora, Baltea and Sesia rivers?
Po River
Limestones, calcareous marls and dolomitic sands are examples of what type of soil?
Sedimentary soils
What is the term for resulting deposit of sediment (rocks and soils) that was transported by a glacier?
Moraine
What type of soil is schist or gneiss?
Metamorphic soil
What type of climate is characterised by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters?
Mediterranean climate
What type of climate has warm summers and cold winters with large diurnal and annual temperature variations?
Continental climate
What is the name for winds that are warm and dry and descend on the leeward side of a mountain after the condensation of water vapour on the windward side?
Foehn winds
What wind is also known as the Greco?
The Bora
Which wind blows from the north, bringing cold air from the Alps?
Tramontana
Which wind blows through the spring into autumn and brings warm, dry air from the Sahara Desert?
Scirocco
What wind is a westerly one?
Ponente
What is the most-planted red grape in Italy?
Sangiovese
What is the most planted white grape in Italy?
Glera
What white grape is native to the Roero Hills?
Arneis
What is the white grape of Gavi in Piemonte?
Cortese