Northern Italy Flashcards
What is the most widely planted grape in Piedmont?
Barbera
Name the 8 Regions that make up Northern Italy
Valle d’Aosta
Piedmont
Liguria
Lombardy
Emilia-Romagna
Trentino-Alto Adige
Veneto
Fruili-Venezia Giulia
Describe Brachetto d’Acqui
Pink, low alcohol, slightly sparkling wine made from Brachetto in Piedmont
4 Primary white grapes of Piedmont
Cortesi
Moscato
Arneis
Chardonnay
4 Primary red grapes of Piedmont
Nebbiolo
Barbera
Dolcetto
Brachetto
Name 9 Important DOCGs of Piedmont
Barolo
Barbaresco
Gattinara
Asti
Moscato d’Asti
Barbera d’Asti
Barbera del Monferrato Superiore
Gavi
Roero (Arneis & Nebbiolo)
Recent Highly Regarded vintages of Piedmont for Barolo, Barbaresco, and Barbera based wines
2000 = great “ripe” year
2001 = excellent “classic” year
2002 = POOR!
2004 = excellent “classic” year
Name and describe the 4 important DOCGs of Lombardy
Franciacorta = quality Metodo Classico sparkling wines
Valtellina Superiore = Nebbiolo-based reds
Sforzato di Valtellina = amarone style from Nebbiolo
Oltrepo Pavese Classico = sparkling
What is the northernmost region in Italy?
Trentino-Alto Adige
What is another name for the Prosecco grape?
Glera
What does Valpolicella translate to?
“Valley of Many Cellars”
Name the 10 important DOCGs of Veneto
Amarone della Valpolicella
Recioto della Valpolicella
Prosecco di Conegliano
Prosecco di Valdobbiadene
Prosecco de Colli Asolani
Soave Superiore
Soave Superiore Classico
Soave Recioto de Soave
Bardolino Superiore
Recioto di Gambellara
What are the 3 principle grapes that go into a Valpolicella blend?
Corvina Veronese
Rondinella
Molinara
Describe the Ripasso process
Literally “re-passed”
Traditional winemaking technique in the Veneto
Young Valpolicella put into tanks or barrels containing lees or dried fruit from previous Amarone fermentation
Causes secondary fermentation, increasing alcohol content and giving Amarone character to the wine
Describe Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG wine
Corvina, Rondinella, Corvinone and others
Produced from ripe bunches of dehydrated grapes
Fruit dries and develops unique flavor characteristics
Wine fermented to dry or off-dry
Intensely flavored at 14-16% abv
Describe the Appassimento Process
Grapes harvested and dried for several weeks in special rooms
Used to produce passito, recioto and Amarone wines
Modern technology: use of ventilators and de-humidifiers makes process more reliable
Describe Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG wines
sweet wines made from passito grapes in Veneto
What grapes are Soave wines made from?
Garganega with some Trebbiano di Soave
Name 3 important DOCGs of Friuli Venezia Giulia
Ramandolo (Verduzzo)
Picolit
Picolit-Gialla
(All made from Ripasso grapes)
Where does the sparkling wine Lambrusco come from?
Emilia Romagna
3 primary white grapes of Tuscany
Trebbiano Toscano
Vernaccia
Malvasia
5 primary red grapes of Tuscany
Sangiovese
Calaiolo
Syrah
Cabernet Sauvignon
Merlot
Name the 6 important DOCGs of Tuscany
Chianti
Chianti Classico
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Brunello di Montalcino
Morellino di Scansano
Vernaccia di San Gimignano
What white wine is most notable from Tuscany?
Vernaccia di San Gimignano
