Italy - Veneto

Question 1

What is the approximate latitude of the Veneto?

Answer 1

Venice sits at 45 degrees North

Question 2

What does Colli mean in Italian?

Answer 2

Many things, but in the context of wine, hills*

Question 3

What are the important rivers of the Veneto?

Answer 3

Po, Adige, Brenta, Piave, Livenza, Tagliamento

Question 4

What are the important cities of Veneto?

Answer 4

Verona, Vinceza, Padua, Treviso, Venice

Question 5

What is the overall Climate of the Veneto

Answer 5

Moderate Continental

Question 6

What is produced in the Lugana DOC?

Answer 6

Light, pleasant whites based on the Turbiana grape variety.

Question 7

What is another name for Turbiana? To what variety is it closely related?

Answer 7

Trebbiano Lugana, closely related to Trebbiano di Soave, aka verdicchio.

Very bright acidity, fresh citrus, tell-tale almond notes that range from bitter while young to honied marzipan with age.

Question 8

Where is Lugana located?

Answer 8

South of Lake Garda, West of Bardolino.
Shared between Veneto & Lombardy

Question 9

What is produced in Bianco di Custoza?

Answer 9

dry white, passito sweet whites, and bubbles based on blends of cortese, friulano, garganega, & trebbiano toscano.

Question 10

Where is the Custoza DOC?

Answer 10

Overlapping and south of Bardolino. Considered by some Bardolino for white wine due to the proximity & overlap.

Question 11

What states encompass the Trevenezie IGT and the delle Venezie DOC?

Answer 11

Veneto, Friuli, & Trentino-Alto Adige

Question 12

Where is Valpolicella? What wines does it produce & What DOC(G)s must you know?

Answer 12

Alpine foothills N of Verona
Between Bardolino & Valdadige to the West, and Soave to the East.

Dry or Sweet still reds based on corvina, corvinone, & rondenella, using the appassimento method

Valpolicella DOC +/- Classico
Valpolicella Ripasso DOC
Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG
Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG

Question 13

Where is Soave? What wines does it produce? What DOC(G)s must you know?

Answer 13

Soave is east of Valpolicella, west of Vinceza & Gambarella.
Soave produces still white of 70+% garganega
Chardonnay and/or trebbiano di Soave (verdicchio)
There’s a classico zone; know
Soave DOC
Soave Superiore DOCG
Recioto di Soave DOCG

Question 14

Where is Gambellara? What wines does it produce and what appellations should you know?

Answer 14

Think of it as poor-man’s Soave. Garganega based still whites immediately east of Soave.

Gambellara DOC
Recioto di Gambellara DOCG

Question 15

Where is Colli Euganei? What wine does it produce and what appellations should you know?

Answer 15

Between Colli Berici and Bangnoli DOCs. Produces a sweet white from Fior d’Arancio, literally “orange blossom” and a member of the muscat family also known as Moscato Giallo; this wine is produced in a spumante or a very sweet passito style.

Very sweet and delightfully floral, their perfect pair is local biscotti & pastries. Think of it as the Vin Santo of Veneto.

Know Colli Euganei DOC
& Colli Euganei Fior d’Arancio DOCG

Question 16

Where is Bagnoli? What wine does it produce and what appellations should you know?

Answer 16

Bagnoli is on the Adige river, south and a bit east of Colli Euganei.
It’s one of many regions that makes wine from the Raboso grape. It gets its name from the italian word for angry, rabid or aggressive-a likely nod to the aggressive acid & tannin it provides.

Know Bagnoli DOC and Bagnoli Friularo DOCG. Friularo is the local name for Raboso Veronese. Dry, late harvest (Vendemmia Tardiva), and passito styles are made; all must be 90% Friularo.

Question 17

What are the two DOCGs for Prosecco?

Answer 17

Asolo Prosecco DOCG &
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG

Question 18

What other DOCGs overlap with each prosecco DOCG?

Answer 18

Montello Rosso DOCG with Asolo.
Makes bordeaux style wines with 85% cab, cab franc, merlot, and/or carmenere.

Colli di Conegliano makes still reds & whites
Reds of bordeaux varieties: cab, cab franc, merlot
Whites based on manzoni bianco with others pinot bianco, chard, sauvblanc, & riesling allowed to blend in.

Manzoni bianco produces a full-bodied yet fresh white with spicy floral aromatics and a touch of minerality. It’s a cross between pinot bianco & riesling, performed by Luigi Manzoni at the famous oenology college in Conegliano.

Question 19

What are the boundaries of prosecco & what are its DOC rules?

Answer 19

Covers NE Veneto & all of Friuli!
Heart of historic prosecco production are the veneto DOCGs
must be 85% glera, minimum
rose prosecco can now be produced with 15% pinot nero fermented on its skins

Question 20

Where is Piave? What wines does it produce & what appellations must we know?

Answer 20

Piave is on the Piave river in North East Veneto, east of the prosecco DOGs and west of Lison.

Piave DOC makes dry & appassimento wines from a range of grapes.

Piave Malanotte DOCG only produces Raboso wines. Considered the finest Italian reds east of Valpolicella. Some of the strictest production standards in Europe.

70% minimum Raboso Piave
up to 30% less regarded Raboso Veronese
up to 5% other.

Aged 3 years prior to release
15% min to 30% max passito grapes.

Question 21

Where is Lison? What wines does it produce & what appellations must we know?

Answer 21

Lison is at Veneto’s North Eastern Edge, just East of Piave
Bordered by the Livenza & Tagliamenta rivers

Lison DOCG only approved for whites based on Friulano, unsurprising considering that Lison DOCG is shared by Fruili to the East.

Lison-Pramaggiore DOC produces range of red & whites from indigenous & international varieties