Italy: North East Flashcards

Question

Veneto : The Growing Environment

Answer 1

- South end of Lake Gardain the west, Venice in the East , Alps in the North and flat plains of the Po in the South - warm, and moderate continental - Moderate rainfall - Coolin g: Alps and lake Garda - Flat plain sits under moist air and fog from the River Adige and Po River valley ( largest expanse of flat land in Itlay ) - Hazards Esca and trunk rot - SOILS : fertile to less on the hillsides - good to outstanding -

Answer 2

Hield yields are labelled IGT and are simple and fruity Glera - Prosecco Pinot Grigio Garganega - Soave Corvina -Valpoicella Merlot Chard Rondinella

Answer 3

- Foothills to the north and flat plain in the south - SOILS : Limetstone and clay with volcaninc rocks ( basalt) - cooling and keeps acidity high Vigorous, late ripening Trained on Pergola and some trellised ( modern ) Sensitive to winter cold , mildew and botrytis High acid, medium body, medium I Apple, pear, white pepper, stone fruit High end examples are oaked - very good to outstanding Can age well into almond and honey Good to very good and inexpensive to mid priced Vines planted onthe fertile plains are mediumim in acidity and meant to be drink young - acceptabel to good **Quality producers will use a cold short macertaion period , cool ferment 16-18 and a few months of lees ageing Fermenting in oak is not uncommon

Answer 4

**- SOAVE DOC :** - Grapes from the entire Soave region - 70% must be Garganega - up to 30% Trebbiano di Soave or Chardonanny - Of this 30% , only 5% can be other - MAX YIELDS 105h/L - Can be sold after December 1st - year of harvest - 80% of all productionof Soave **SOAVE DOC Classico : ** from the hilly Classico region same rules as SOAVE DOC but with MAX YIELDS of 98h/L Wine can be sold after Feb 1 - year after harvest only 20% of all Soave production **Soave Superiore DOCG - ** Same rules about varieties as Saove DOC hilly zone of Recioto di Soave MAX YIELDS 70h/L Wine can only bve sold after September 1 the year after harvest Tiny amounts **Recioto di Soave DOCG. - ** delimited hilly zone, same blend as Saove but with semi dried grapoes MAX YIELDS are 36h/L Wines are rich, floral, honeyed and sweet with high acidity

Answer 5

- avg. 2 ha per small producer - large bottlers - 10% family owned - Co-ops , Cantina di Soave makes around 50% of all wine in Soave - Competes with Pnot Grigio - 85% exported to Germany , UK - slightly higher prices are being ahcieved as it is percieved as a good value wine - Very good to outstanind - eg. Pieropan are working to re position the wine as a high quality - Soave Consorzio is classifying single vineyards based on soils, aspect and elevations - subzones are on hilly sites in the Classico zone - 2020, 33 single vineyards were approved

Answer 6

-north of Verona Foothills in the North are limestons and clay or volcaninc soils , slowing down ripening -In the south are flat plains with gravel and sand =less acid and concentration

Answer 7

- Most planted variety - 50% of all plantings - vigorous , dependable - thick skins - good for drying - prone to powdery mildew, botrytis and Esca and drought - Mid-to-late ripening - Does well on Pergola as it does not fruit on the first buds of the cane - good circulation helps with disease - Mostly blended and contributes violet, red cherry and red plum fruit, herbal , low to med tannins, and high acidity - very few single variety - used in Valpolicella as a ruby, simple, fresh fruity wine - Amarone and Recioto as a deep ruby complex high abv% wine with tannic and acidic structure

Answer 8

- 'big Corvina' -big clusters but not realted to Corvina - Prone to powdery mildew - grapes do not ripen in uniform and fruit must be picked bunch by bunch - good complimetnt o Corvina in a blend as it adds tannins and red cherry fruit - also dries well

Answer 9

- reliable, vigorours grown on range of soils - good diease resitance - prone to Esca - Wines are light, simple cherry - good for Recioto - sugar accumulates quickly

Answer 10

- high yields - acid and red berry, very light in colour - not popular

Answer 11

- inexpensive wines are crushed, fermented in SS tanks at 20-25 to retain primary fruit - Maceration is only 5-7 days - Aim i slight to medium tannins - Aged in SS tank or neutral barrels for 6-8 months

Answer 12

- increasinly popular - The style is called Passito - grapes are picked and allowed t oreach semi dried state - Grapes are stored for 3-4 months in well-aerated lofts - Fruit concentrates and raises abv% to make sweet and dry wines - Grapes are picked at 11-11.5% with good acidity and to ensure perfect bunches - Healthy grapes are left to dry on vine or off - grapes are hung to allow ventilation - In volume production, they are stacked one bunch deep in trays - Huidity/ temp are carefull controlled - Grapes will lose 1/3 of weight = higher levels of sugar, abv% acidity anthocyanins ( colour) , tannins and concentration of flavours - Glycerol is produced

Answer 13

DOC and DOCG wines: Corvina or Corvinone must be 45-95% of the blend Rondinella 5-30% Or Molinara Valpolicella DOC : - MAX YIELD 84h/L wines are made with short maceration and show bright purple tints in youth , red cherry and rose , no oak and low to medium tannins , med-med plus acid Good Valpolicella DOC CLassico : MAX YIELD hilly ,defined Classico area Greater concentration Good to very Good Valpolicella DOC Valpantena - from the Valpantena Valley Superiore : additional option for Valpoicella DOC and Valpoicella DOC Classico higher min abv and aged for one year in large wood vessels Cannot be sold intil one year after Jan 1- a year after harvest Wines are ruby and have greater concentration - to set apart a higher grade , In Soave, it is a DOCG to reposition the wine in a commercial market These wines van be outstanding and sold for super prem prices - these wines use a portion of semi dried grapes and reflect tradition - very rare eg. Quintarelli

Answer 14

- historic ,sweet, semi dried grapes - sourced from anywhere unless lablled Classico - **Dried off vine for 100-120 days ** - Final YIELD MAX is 48h/L ( after drying and pressing) - Wines are intense red, rfresh fruit and full bodied , Medium plus to high tannins - Small scal and artisan - Styles differ but avg is 12% abv and 50g/L of RS - Very good to outstanding and prem priced

Answer 15

- modern, dry or just off dry - sourced from anywhere, and final yield after drying and pressing is 48h/L - Max abv is 14% and 5-9g/L RS - Max is 9g/L - Wine must be aged for two years min. - Four years for Riserva - Wines have intense cherry and dried fruit , spice and wood, med to high tannins and high acidity to balacnce - Some have volatile, nutty notes from mild oxidative large oak , not topped up - Good to outstanding and mid , prem and super prem priced

Answer 16

- unpressed grapes wit hsome RS are taken form the end of the ferment of Amarone and Recioto - New Valpolicella wine , pressed off skins is added to the grapes for a second maceration - Yeasts ferment the ramining sugar and give more colour, flavour and tannins - 10-15% Amarone and Recioto must be added to contribute to flavour, tannin and abv % - wine must be 12.5 % and 13% for Superiore - Cannot be sold until Jan1 a year after harvest - Aged in large wood - Wines are medium to full body, medium plus tannins ansd fresh stewed red cherries and plums - Also wines from the dried grape and standard wine sold as IGP - Good to very good and mid to prem prices

Answer 17

-Valpolicella Consorzio - represents more than 80% of producers - marketing and promo , sustainability and research - Certified sustainability project to incorporate 60 % of members and eventuall the whole region **- 'REduce , Respect, Retrench **- Amarone and Ripasso becoming more poluar again - Recioto a niche market , Amarone has grown six fold since the 90's - Growers recieve three time the price for Amarone grapes than basic Valpolicella - 65% exported to Germany, US, Switzerland and UK -

Answer 18

new DOC est 2017 -Pinot Grigio **Grapes must be grown in Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Trentino-AltoAdige 85% of Pinot Grigio is from here and more than 40% of the worlds MAX YIELD 126h/L DOC is very popular as producers can label under DOC Wines are ligh to med - intenstiy apple and lemon and light to med - body, med abv % and Med plus acidity Good, inexpensive and mid priced

Answer 19

-next to Lake Garda -Three named subsones for red wines Light bodied red and rose DOC are Corvina at 35-95% and 5-40% Rondinella , also up to 20% other authorised ( 10% for single variety and 15% for Molinara ) -Merlot can be used to boost the colour MAX YIELDS Are 84h/L for DOC and lower for Superiore Rose called Chiaretto is light,fresh and fruity , medium salmon colour

Answer 20

between Verona and Lake Garda easy drinking wines with aromatic fresh whites of Trebbiano Toscano, Garganega, Friulano and soe Cortese -mostly domestic sales -Two large co-ops dominate

Answer 21

- South fo Lake Garda - crosses into Lombardy - most vineyards are in Lombardy but bottled in Veneto - Big producers dominate - Main grape is calle Turbiana and similar to Verddichio - SOILS : clay - Wines are moderate armoatic , ripe apple, citrus and hazelnut with lively acid and saline finish - Some are aged in oak and can age for five years or more - Driven by tourism and export makets ( 60%) , this area has doubled in sales over the last ten years -