Italy Flashcards
What is the red grape of Valtellina?
Chivennasca - Nebbiolo
What is the dominant grape varietal of Soave DOC?
Garganega
Which red grape varietal is cultivated in Trentino-Alto Adige?
Schiava
What wine serves as the base for the Bellini cocktail?
Prosecco
What is the primary red grape varietal of Barolo and Barbaresco?
Nebbiolo
What is Italy’s most important DOCG for traditional method sparkling wines?
Franciacorta
What is the principal grape varietal of Amarone?
Corvina
How are Italian wines classified?
Vino (Formerly Vino da Tavola - Table WInes), IGT (Geographica), DOC (Donominazione di Origine Controllata), DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita)
What mountain range provides the “spine” of Italy?
The Apennine Mountains
What mountain range provides the northern border of Italy?
The Alps
What river cuts through the heart of the Piedmont region of Italy?
The Po River
What type of climate does Piedmont experience?
Continental with a “rain shadow” effect from the Alps.
What type of soil is found in Piedmont?
Calcerous marl an sandstone with carying percentages of clay and sand.
What are the prized southern exposed slopes of Piedmont called?
Sori
What three grape varietals make up the primary reds of Piedmont?
Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, and Barbera
Barolo Chinato is an aromatized wine flavored with what?
Quinine
What are Goria Laws?
Passed in 1992 and established by Giovanni Goria, these laws further clarified Italian Wine Law and the quality standards/detrminations.
What is the main soil of Tuscany?
Tufa and volcanic to sandstone and limestone
What is a Super Tuscan wine?
Wines (usually red) that are produced outside of the Tuscan DOCG that exhibit exemplary characteristics of the region…especially as it relates to Chianti…or the Sangiovese…varietal.
What is the primary varietal of Chianti Classico?
Sangiovese
Name three Super Tuscan wine producers.
Sassicaia, Tignanello, Ornellaia
Who produces Flaccianello?
Fontodi
Who produces Tignanello?
Antinori
Who produces Solaia?
Antinori
Who produces Ornellaia?
Tenuta dell’Ornellaia
Name a producer of Franciacorta sparkling wine.
Ca Del Bosco
What is the Italian name for Pinot Noir?
Pinot Nero
When a Franciacorta sparkling wine is labeled “reserva”, what is the minimum amount of time it must be aged on its lees?
5 years
What two countries influence the wines of Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy?
Italy and Germany
What is the dominant red varietal of Trentino-Alto Adige?
Schiava
What is the white varietal in Veneto, Italy most well known for?
Pinot Grigio (Pinot Gris)
What perennially expensive, luxury wine does Veneto, Italy produce?
Amarone
What is the “appassimento” method for developing recioto wines?
The grapes are hung from special lofts and dried before fermentation; concentrating sugar and extract.
What are the special lofts used to make Amarone wine called?
Fruttai
What type of wine is Soave, Italy known for?
White wines made from at least 70% Garganega, with Trebbiano di Soave, Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco added as well.
What are the sparkling wines of Veneto called?
Prosecco
What is the trademark white varietal of Friuli-Venezia Giulia?
Friulano - also known as Tocai Friulano (or Tai)
What is the primary varietal of Chianti?
Sangiovese
What are the traditional squat, straw covered, Italian glass bottles of Chianti called?
Fiasco
What type of climate does Tuscany, Italy enjoy?
Mostly a dry, maritime=influenced climate. Some areas may also have a more seasonal, continental climate.
What is “governo”?
Refermentation with the juice of dried grapes.
What are the two primary soil types of Chianti Classico?
Galesro (soft, friable, marl-like) and alberese (sandstone)
What is the most powerful expression of Sangiovese in Tuscany, Italy?
Brunello di Montalcino - made from 100% Saniovese Grosso (Bruno) varietal
What is the traditional dessert wine of Tuscany, Italy called?
Vin santo
What is the primary white wine of Umbria called?
Orvieto - Used to toast the first successful nuclear reaction of the Manhattan Project by physicist Enrico Fermi.
What story is most famously related to di Montefiascone in the Latium region of Italy?
“Est! Est! Est!”
Name a DOCG of Campania and the varietal used to create its white wine?
Fiano di Avellino; Fiano
What is the most famous wine expression of Sicily?
Marsala
What is the varietal most planted in Sicily?
Cataratto
What Southern Italy region does not contain any DOCG zones?
Calabria
What is the only white wine DOCG of Tuscany, Italy?
Vernaccio di San Gimignano
What DOCG zone does the Super-Tuscan Sassicaia have its own subappellation?
Bolgheri
What is the primary white grape of Marches?
Verdicchio
What is the principal red grape of Taurasi DOCG?
Aglianico
