Northeast Italy Flashcards
What is the main cultural difference between Trentino and Alto Adige?
Trentino speaks Italian, Alto-Adige is majority German
Where are the vines planted in Trentino-Alto-Adige?
Typically on the lower slopes of the hills in the foothills of the Alps (with apple orchards in the valleys)
What are the main wines produced in Trentino?
Varietal expressions (unoaked, fresh), PG, Chardonnay, and Muller-Thurgau, as well as reds from Teroldego, Merlot, and Marzemino
What is the climate of Trentino?
Moderate continental (despite proximity to the Alps) with some cooling influence
What factors contribute to Trentino’s climate?
Mountain protection from cold north wines, moderating presence of Lake Garda in the south, and heat building up on the valley floor. Cool air descends at night, resulting in wide temperature differences
What is the red/white breakdown of Trentino plantings?
75% white, 25% red
What are the maximum yields in Trentino?
High but depend on variety, whites are typically around 100hl/ha and reds around 90 hl/ha
What are the most widely-planted grapes in Trentino?
Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay, which together account for half of all plantings
What are the important indigenous black grapes of Trentino? What types of wine do they produce
Teroldego, Marzemino, and Lagrein. All are vigorous, mid-to late-ripening varieties making deeply-colored, medium tannin wines of good quality and inexpensive to mid-price
What is the most common black grape in Trentino? Where is its best quality wine produced?
Teroldego, which is best in the sandy and gravelly soils of Teroldego Rotaliano DOC in the far north of Trentino
Where is the best Marzemino produced?
The Ziresi subzone of Trentino DOC due to full sun exposure and rich calcareous/clay and basalt soils
What is done to soften harshness and bitterness in Lagrein?
Shorter maceration times, oak aging, or rose production
What is Moscato Rosa?
Member of Moscato family prone to poor fruit set and botrytis, so difficult to grow. Rose-scented appassimento sweets or premium price
What is Nosiola?
White variety grown in Valley of the Lakes, producing small amounts of hazelnut-flavored white and semi-dried wines (semi-dried is called Vino Santo). Hazelnut from te fruit, not oak
Describe typical white winemaking in Trentino
Soft pressing grapes and fermenting in stainless at low temperatures to retain primary fruit. May be briefly aged on lees. Top whites may see some barrique
Describe typical red winemaking in Trentino
Two styles. Most are fresh and fruity with med tannin and body. Maceration during fermentation (5-7 days) at moderate temps (17-20C), aged briefly in stainless or old neutral wood. Premium reds may go through maceration after alcoholic fermentation (additiona 7-14 days) and warm fermentation temps, then aged in barrique with a small portion new
What are the types of wine permitted in Trentino DOC?
Bianco (min 80% Chardonnay and/or Pinot Bianco), Rosso (single variety or blend of Cab, Cab Franc, Carmenere, and Merlot), single variety wines (min85% named), two variety blends (50-75% Chard, PB, PG, SB, remainder one of the others), rosé (calle Rosato or Kretzer)
What is Val di Cembra?
One of the permitted important sub-zones that can appear on labels in conjunction with DOC Trentino
What is the average vineyard holding in Trentino? What effect does this have on the wine business there?
1.2 ha. Very small holdings result in co-ops playng a very large role in the business
What percentage of total Terntino production is from co-ops?
80%
What percentage of production does Cavit account for in Trentino?
69% of all production
Why do some Trentino producers eschew Trentino DOC?
High yields and lack of uniform quality makes Trentino DOC of questionable value
Where is Alto-Adige located?
Northeastern Italy, on the lower slopes of the Dolomites
What are the indigenous Alto Adige varieties?
Schiava (pale red) and Gewurztraminer (Tramin is in the province)
What are the main wines produced in Alto-Adige?
International varieties (PG, Chard, PB, PN, and SB)
What is the breakdown between red and white production in Alto-Adige?
60% white, 40% red
What is the climate and growing environment of Alto-Adige?
Mild Alpine continental, with pprotection from cold northern winds from the mountains. Good sunlight, warm air currents in the valleys, large diurnal swings ripen while retaining acidity
What are the soils like in Alto-Adige, and what is significant about them?
Volcanic Porphyry, quartz, mica, Dolomitic limestone - basically, varied soils which give producers options
How are vines trained in Alto-Adige?
Traditional pergola or Guyot
What are the most largest growing zones in Alto-Adige, and what differentiates them? Are they legal subzones?
Bassa Atesina in the south, with the warmer climate, all main varieties grown except Sciava, and Oltradige, including the Lake Caldaro area for Schiava, with Merlot, Cab in valleys and PN and whites in the altitudes. Not legal subzones
What are the top Alto-Adige plantings, in order of percentage?
Schiava, PG Gewurz, PB, Chard, Lagrein, PN, SB
Describe Schiava wines from Alto-Adige
Four separate varieties normally grown and vinified together. Typically grown on pergola to cope with their vigor and high yields. Pale ruby with violet and strawberry perfume, med to light body, low tannin
What is the wine made in Santa Magdalena DOC?
Schiava with up to 15% Lagrein permitted to deepend
Describe white winemaking in Alto-Adige
Emphasizes primary fruit. Low to moderate temp fermentation, selected yeast, stainless vessels. Mid-priced wines may be kept on fine lees 4-6 months, premium wines nearly a year. Top wines may see barrique
What percentage of Alto-Adige production is DOC?
98%
What are the permitted wine categories of Alto-Adige DOC?
Bianco (min 75% Chard, PB, or PG, two varieties must be present, none over 70%), single variety wines (minn 85% variety named), two variety blends (Chard-PB, both varieties more than 15% of blend)
What is Valle Isarco?
The largest of Alto-Adige DOC’s six subzones
What is Lago di Caldaro DOC?
n Alto-Adige appellation for Schiava
How do yields differ in Alto-Adige from those in Trentino?
Alto-Adige’s are slightly lower, but still quite high
What is the average vineyard holding in Alto-Adige and how does this affect the wine business?
About 1ha, resulting in co-ops playing the largest role in production
Two private estate producers in Alto-Adige
Alois Lageder and Elena Walch
Two high quality co-ops in Alto Adige
Cantina Kaltern (largest in the province) and Cantina di Tramin
Where is most Alto-Adige production sold?
75% is sold in Italy, with a focus on whites and aromatics, half of which are in the province itself (and its tourist sector)
What countries does Friuli-Venezie Giulia border?
Austria and Solvenia
What influences the wine culture of Friuli?
German-speaking and Slavic countries, which it borders
What is the climate and growing environment of Friuli-Venezie Giulia?
Warm maritime due to Adriatic influence meeting the cooling of the Alps. High rainfall, 1/3 more than Bordeaux, with humidity (disease pressure and challenges organic)
What are the broad zones of Friuli?
The plain and the low hills. Plain for everyday, hills for quality
What are the most important DOCs of the Friuli plain? What affects the terroir there?
Grave del Friuli DOC (mostly volume) and Friuli Isonzo DOC (near Collio). Higher yields, lots of PG and Merlot. Alluvial soils with rocky deposits (more fertile than the hills)
What are the most important DOCs of the Friuli hills? What affects the terroir there?
Collio DOC and Collio Orientali del Friuli DOC. Calcareous marl, excellent drainage, varied exposures and wind contribute to lower yields and higher quality
What percentage of Friuli plantings are PG?
25%
What are the local white varieties of Friuli?
Robolla Gialla, Malvasia di Istria, Verduzzo, and Picolit
What are the local red varieties of Friuli?
Refosco, Schiopettino, Pignolo, and Tazalenghe
What are the top varieties of Friuli by plantings?
PG (by a lot), Merlot, friulano, Chard, SB, Cab Franc
Which Austrian / Middle European grapes are grown in Friuli?
Riesling, Welschriesling (Riesling Italico), Gewurz, Muller-Thurgau, Blaufrankisch (Franconia)
Which French varieties are grown in Friuli?
Merlot, Sauvignonasse (Friulano), Chard, SB, Cab Franc, PB, Cab Sauv, PN, Carmenere
Besides tradition, what makes Friulano well-suited to Friuli?
It is disease resistance in a high rainfall area
Why is Friulano named Friulano?
It could no longer be called Tocai Friulano following the EU determination that Tokah was only to be used for the Hungarian wine
Where in Friuli is Ribolla Gialla grown?
Only in Collio and Colli Orientali, as it needs hillside sites to prevent vigor
What styles of Ribolla Gialla are made?
Fresh or oaked, charmat sparkling, dry and off-dry, orange and amphora, lots of experimentation
What is the most planted local black variety in Friuli?
Refosco
Describe Friuli’s “clean” winemaking style and its history
Mario Schipetto, in the 1960s, brought German technical expertise on use of stainless fermentation and aging, temperature control, cultivated yeast, and pneumatic presses to produce ultra-clean style
Describe winemaking experimentation happening in Friuli
Late harvest, skin maceration, lees stirring, and oak use
What is the hub of orange wine production in Friuli?
The Oslavia subregion of Collio (and neighboring Brda in Slovenia)
Describe hallmarks of Friuli orange wine production
Skin maceration (8 days up to 6-8 months) on white variety skins, long aging (2-6) years in large format oak, ambient yeast fermentation without temperature control, no fining or filtration, low or no added SO2, organic vineyard methods, local varieties
What are typical aromas of Friuli orange wines? What is significant about palate analysis?
Pronounced flavors of dried fruits, dried herbs, hay, and nuts. Also important to note tannin presence
What distinguishes Collio and Collio Orientali del Friuli DOCs?
Political history - COF became part of Italy in the 19th century, Collio joined Italy in 1914
What are the principle varieties of Collio and COF DOCs?
Single variety Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, SB, or Chard
What type of wine is made in Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit DOCG?
Historic sweet wines that once competed with Tokaj. Very small production, 10-15 berries per vine, wine is made from air-dryed Picolit grapes
What type of wine is made in Ramandolo DOCG? Where is it located?
Air-dried grape wine made from Verduzzo in Friuli
What is Friuli DOC?
New appellation introduced in 2016 allowing growers to produce DOC wine from all authorized areas of Friuli with high yields. Not a quality development
What drove the 55% growth of export value in Friuli between 2013 and 2018?
Prosecco and PG
What challenges Friuli’s dominance of clean, modern Italian whites?
Cheaper alternatives of clean style from Trentino-Alto Adige and low end competition from Eastern European PG
What are the geographic markers of the Veneto’s borders?
Lake Garda in the west to Venice in the east, foothills of the Alps in the north to the Po delta plains in the south
What is the growing environment and climate of the Veneto?
Warm, moerately continental climate with moderate rain. Cooling may come from altitude or breezes off LLake Garda. Flat plain affected by moist air and fog from Adige River and Po River valley
Describe the soils of the Veneto and their effect on quality production
Generally very fertile, resulting in high yields. Plain vineyards have rich soils with high fertility, hillsides better for quality production due to drainage and less richness. Valpolicella and Soave DOCs extend to the plains and permit high yields, resulting in wine quality swings
What percentage of plantings does Glera represent in the Veneto?
Almost 25%
Where is Soave located and how is it divided?
East of Verona, divided into the foothills in the north and a flat plain in the south (near Adige River)
What terroir factors influence Soave’s style?
Limestone, clay, and volcanic soils that are naturall cool, along with altitude influence, slows down ripening and leads to grapes with full flavor ripeness yet high acidity
Describe Garganega and its production
Historic white variety of the Veneto, vigorous and productive. Late ripening. Sensitive to cold, mildew, and botrytis. Handpicked on hills, machine-harvested on the plains. Quality wines see short cold maceration, cool fermentation, and a few months of aging on lees. Some use of oak but rare
What are the main DOCs/DOCGs for Soave?
Soave DOC, Soave Classico DOC, Soave Superiore DOCG, Recioto di Soave DOCG
What are the regulations for Soave DOC?
Grapes from the entire Soave region, 70% Garganega, up to 30% Trebbiano di Soave (Verdicchio) or Chard, max 5% any other authorized variety. 105 hl/ha, sold December 1 after harvest. 80% of al Soave
What are the regulations for Soave Classico DOC?
Grapes from the hilly Classico region, same variety rules as Soave DOC, yields 98 hl/ha, released 1 February after harvest
What are the regulations for Soave Superiore DOCG?
Grapes from delimied hilly subzone, same variety rules as Soave DOC, 70hl/ha yields, released September 1 year after harvest.
What are the regulations for Recioto di Soave DOCG?
Grapes from same delimited zone as Soave Superiore DOCG made from semi-dried grapes. Max yield 36 hl/ha, rich, floral, honeyed sweets
What is significant about yield regs in Soave?
Although yields are high and producers work close to the maximums allowed, many still produce concentration and intensity in their wines (showing that Garganega can produce full-flavored wines at high yields)
What percentage of Soave bottlings are family wineries?
Less than 10% - mostly small growers and large bottlers
Who produces about half of the total wine made in Soave?
Cantina di Soave, the largest co-io
What is the state of demand for Soave?
Peaked in the 1960s and 70s, but has lost ground since to volume PG from Veneto and elsewher
What percentage of Soave is exported?
80%
What quality initiative has the Soave Consorzio recently undertaken?
A classification of single vineyards, most (but not all) of which are in the Classico zone. 33 named vineyards approved in 2020
Where is Valpolicella located? What are the soil types there, and how do they affect the wines?
Immediately north of Verona. Foothills in the north of the appellation have limestone, clay, and volcanic soils cooler than those in the south, which slow ripening and retain acidity (greater concentration). Southern soils are gravel and sand, warmer, so less acid and concentration
Describe Corvina viticulture
Vigorous, dependable, high yield variety with thick skins (suitable for appassimento) but prone to downy mildew, botrytis, esca. Mid to late ripening. Best on pergola training because it does not fruit on the first few buds and produces enough leaves to shade berries from sunburn (height also helps reduce disease)
Describe Corvinone
Variety unrelated to Corvina producing large clusters of berries that do not ripen uniformly (requiring multiple passes during harvest). Supplies tannin in blends and takes to appassimento well
Describe Rondinella
Reliable, productive variety good on a range of soils and resistant to disease. Neutral, simple cherry wines, but accumulats sugar very fast and so is useful for Recioto
Describe Molinara
High-yielding variety that has fallen out of favor in Valpolicella in recent years due to pale color (while the market prefers deeper wines). Contributes acidity and red berry fruit
Describe basic Valpolicella production
Fresh, fruity wines for early consumption. Temperature-controlled fermentation (20-25C) to retain primary aromas after crush. Macerations are short, 5-7 days (light to med tannin). Stainless or neutral oak aging for 6-8 months before release
Describe appassimento
After harvest, grapes are stored for 3-4 months in well-aerated lofts until they reach a semi-dried state (before crushing and production). Historical method for concentrating flavor, rising abv, and making sweet wines (historically not for dry)
Describe viticulture for appassimento fruit
Grapes are picked early, 11-11.5% potential abv, to maintain acidity and ensure perfect bunches. Completely healthy grapes are essential. Grapes are hung up or laid one bunch deep in well-spaced trays (to prevent moldd). Regular checking and rotation along with humidity, tempt, and air movement controls
What changes in grapes as a result of appassimento?
Grapes lose about 1/3 of their weight in water (concentrating all other compounds). Additionally, more glycerol is produced, giving a softer, fuller mouthfeel
What regulations do all Valpolicella DOC/Gs have in common?
Corvina/Corvinone must be 45-95% of the blend, Rondinella may be 5-30%, other authorized varieties include Molinara
Describe Valpolicella DOC
Max yield 84hl/ha resulting in some low flavor concentration. Short maceration, bright, youthful, with red cherry and rose, no oak, low to med tannin
Describe Valpolicella Classico DOC
Valpolicella from the hilly, defined historic Classico zone, typically with greater concentration from the wines of the rest of the DOC
Describe Valpolicella Valpantena DOC
Wines made from grapes grown in the Valpantena valley
What does Superiore mean on a Valpolicella label?
Additional option for Val DOC and Val Class or Valpantena DOC with a marginally higher min abv, often aged in oak for one year. Must be aged one year after 1 Jan of year after harvest - Used in the traditional Italian way for wines as a higher grade above base DOC
Describe Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG
Historic, sweet, semi-dried Valpolicella. Sourcing from anywhere within Valpolicella DOC (Classico only if on the label). Grapes must be dried off the vines for 100-120 days. Final yield max 48hl/ha. Intense red fresh and dried fruit, full body, med+ to high tannin. Small scale production with wide style differences. Min 12% abv and 50g/l RS
Describe Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG
Modern dry or off-dry semi-dried wine. Sourcing from anywhere within Valpolicella DOC, final yield 48hl/ha. 100-120 days of drying. Min abv 14%, usually higher, often with 5-9 g/l RS (max allowed is 9 g/l). Minimum 2 years cask aging, four for Riserva). May have new oak or oxidative notes according to producer style
What does Ripasso mean in Valpolicella?
Taking unpressed grape skins with some residual sugar from the end of Amarone or Recioto fermentation and adcombining it with newly made Valpolicella for a second maceration and fermentation, taking on some of the color, flavor, and tannin of the Amarone source material. 15% Amarone wine may be added for flavor
Describe Valpolicella Ripasso DOC regs
Min 12.5% abv, 13% for Superiore. Aged one year after 1 Jan of the year after harvest, often in large oak. Many producers also make dried and standard wine grape blends but sell it as IGT
What recent trend has most affected the wine business in Valpolicella?
The popularity of Amarone and Ripasso - formerly niche wines, Amarone production has grown 6x since the mid-1990s, and Ripasso 4x since 2016. Valpolicella has dropped significantly in production, growers receive 3x the price for Amarone grapes, and about 65% of Amarone production is exported
What is Pinot Grigio delle Venezie DOC?
New DOC (2017) replacing PG delle venezie IGT with stricter production requirements. Grapes grown in the three regions of Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and southern Trentino. Production is 85% of all Italian-grown PG, more than 40% of the world’s PG. Reduced max yield from 152 hl/ha to 126 hl/ha
Describe Bardolino DOC
Appellation adjacent to Lake Garda (and its moderating influence). Light reds and roses based on Corivina (35-80%) with up to 20% other authorized reds (10% max for any single variety). In practice this means Merlot is added to boost red fruit and reach min abv of 10.5%
What is Bardolino Chiaretto?
Light, fresh rosé made in the Bardolino DOC
Describe Bardolino Superiore DOCG
Same regs as Bardolino DOC with min alc of 11% instead of 10.5
Describe Bianco di Custoza DOC
Easy-drinking, lightly aromatic whites from a blend of Trebbiano oscano, Garganega, Friulano, and Cortese. Located beteen Verone and Lake Garda, mainly sold in the Italian market
Describe Lugana DOC
South of Lake Garda, crossing into Lombardy. Grape variety is Turbiana (formerly Trebbiano di Lugana) and is the same as Verdicchio. Moderately aromatic with saline finish
