Italy Flashcards
1
Q
Size of Italian wine region
A
- 1.9m acres (769 hectares) of vineyard
- 384k wineries
- 377 grape varieties
2
Q
Top wine regions in Italy
A
- Piedmont
- Veneto
- Friuli-Venezia Giulia
- Tuscany
3
Q
Seas near Italian wine regions
A
- Tyrrhenian
- Adriatic
- Ligurian
- Mediterranean
4
Q
Restricted regions
A
- 330 wine zones have been designated as DOCs and 73 as DOCGs, yet the wines from these zones, widely regarded as many of the best wines in the country, represent only a small percentage of all the Italian
- DOC laws enacted in 1963
- DOC stipulations for any given type of wine were formed around what was traditional practice in that region
- Piero Antinori, head of a centuries-old Tuscan winemaking family and a prominent force within the Italian wine industry, made the first well-publicized break with DOC regulations in 1971
5
Q
DOCG
A
- Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita
- more strict than DOC
- DOCG is applied to an entire region; both greaest wine and worst are called DOC
6
Q
IGT
A
- Indicazione Geografica Tipia
- Historically have never been considered as prestigious as the areas awarded DOC and DOCG status
7
Q
Piedmont - key grape
A
- Nebbiolo
- only 8% of plantings, but no place in the world has more nebbiolo than Piedmont
8
Q
Barbera
A
- Piedmont grape
- Vibrant, sometimes rustic wine, oozing with a wealth of fruit flavors
- High acidity, low tanins
- Piedmont’s most widely planted vareity
9
Q
Dolcetto
A
- Piedmont grape
- juicy quaffing wine often has an attractive, bitter edge
10
Q
Most important Piedmont wines
A
Arneis (white) Asti (sparkling, semisweet) Barbaresco (red) Barbera (red) Barolo (red) Dolcetto (red) Gavi (white) Mosacto D'Asti (white, semisweet)
11
Q
Piedmont - region stats
A
- > 15% of DOC & DOCG wines in Italy are made here
- 84% of all the wines are DOC or DOCG
- best vineyards in eastern and southern parts
- best vineyards over 2 hilly, southeastern ranges known as Langhe (tongue, refrence to the moutnains, which are said to be shaped like tongues) & Monferrato
- Important wine towns of Alba, Asti, and Alessandria
12
Q
Areneis
A
- Bold, fresh wine
- Planted mainly in the Roero area north of barolo
13
Q
Moscato
A
- Moscat blanc a petits grains is most commmon in Piedmont
- Extremely fruity, floral and musky aromas and flavors
- 22% of plantings in Piedmont
14
Q
Bonarda and Vespolina
A
- Minor blending rapes used with nebbiolo in the wines gattinara and ghemme
15
Q
Nebbiolo
A
- Known for power, structure, and tanin
- Aromas often characterized as “tar and roses,” along with licorice, violets, leather, chocolate, prunes, and black figs
- “tar” refeers to both flavor and tannin feel
- makes Barolo and Barbaresco
- Primary grape in Gattinara and Ghemme
- In some parts of Piedmont, known as spanna
- ripens late
