Northern Italy Flashcards
What grapes are used in the production of Franciacorta DOCG?
Chardonnay, Pinot Nero, and Pinot Bianco
Vintage Franciacorta requires what % of the grapes to be harvested in the stated year?
85%
What are the aging requirements of a Franciacorta DOCG wine?
A minimum of 18 months maturing on is lees and may not be released until 25 months after harvest.
What are the aging requiremenst for a vintage Franciacorta DOCG wine?
May not be released for 37 months after harvest.
What is required for a vintage Franciacota DOCG wine to be labeled riserva?
A minimum of 5 years maturing on its lees with a release after a minimum of 67 months.
Franciacorta Rosé DOCG is made using what method?
Blending rather than saignée and requires a minimum of 25% Pinot Nero.
In addition to Franciacorta DOCG, what is another DOCG of Lombardy that creates sparkling wine in the traditional method?
Oltrepò Pavese Metodo Classico DOCG
What primary grape is used to make traditional method sparkling wines in Oltrepò Pavese Metodo Classico DOCG?
A minimum of 70% of Pinot Nero must be used.
If more than 85% Pinot Nero is used the bottle may be labeled varietally.
What is the most important DOCG zone in Lombardy?
Franciacorta DOCG
What is the most important red wine producing area in Lombardy?
Valtellina
What type of wine is produced in Valtellina Superiore DOCG?
Red wine from the Nebbiolo grape (known as Chiavennasca).
What are the aging requirements for Valtellina Superiore DOCG?
24 months with 12 in cask
Riserva wines are aged for 3 years
What type of wine is produced in Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG?
A recioto style produced from the Nebbiolo grape.
The grapes are dried prior to fermenting the wine dry.
What are the aging requirements for Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG wines?
Aged for at least 2 years.
What geographic features surround the Piemonte region?
The Apennines and the Alps.
What river flows eastward, cutting through the heart of Piemonte?
The Po River
Describe the climate of Piemonte?
Piemonte experiences a continental climate with a “rain shadow” effect provided by the Alps.
Although they can vary by specific mesoclimate, describe the soil of Piemonte.
Thinner, calcareous marl and sandstone soils with varying percentages of clay and sand.
What are the 3 major red varietals of Piemonte?
Nebbiolo
Barbera
Dolcetto
What is the most planted red grape of Piemonte?
Barbera
What is the most planted white grape of Piemonte?
Moscato Bianco
Mostly used in the production of sparkling wines of Asti.
What are the 2 most prestigious DOCGs in Piemonte?
Barolo and Barbaresco
What are the aging requirements for Barolo red wines?
38 months with 18 in oak
Barolo Riserva requires a total of 62 months
Describe the division in wine making between the “traditionalists” and the “modernists” of Barolo (and Barbaresco).
“Traditionalists” mostly age the wines in large neutral casks after extended macerations of 30-50 days requiring the consumer to cellar the wine for years before it was approachable.
“Modernists” embrace the use of barriques, shorter macerations, and a rounder style of wine.
Although Barolo is produced in 11 comunes, what 5 communes make up 90% of the DOCG’s demarcated land?
La Morra
Barolo
Serralunga d’Alba
Monforte d’Alba
Castiglione Falletto
What 3 towns produce the majority of the Nebbiolo wines in Barbaresco DOCG?
Barbaresco
Neive
Treiso
What are the aging requirements for Nebbiolo in the Barabersco DOCG?
Minimum of 2 years with 9 months in cask
Riserva requires a minimum of 4 years.
What similarities do Barolo and Barbaresco have with Burgundy?
The wines show similar aromatic richness
The Langhe has a similar climate
Emphasis on single vineyards and on domaine bottling
What is Barolo Chinato?
A DOCG aromatized wine that is flavored with quinine.
What grape is used to produce the fresh and floral white wines of Roero DOCG?
Arneis
List some other appelations of Barolo that produce Nebbiolo based red wines
Roero DOCG
Gattinara DOCG
Ghemme DOCG
Lessona DOC
Sizzano DOC
Carema DOC
What 3 DOCG’s in Barolo produce red wine from Barbera?
Barbera d’Asti
Barbera del Monferrato
Nizza
What are the aging requirements for Barbera d’Asti?
Barbera d’Asti may be released as normale after a 4 month aging period.
What are the aging requirements for Barbera del Monferrato?
Barbera del Monferrato must be superiore with 14 months of aging (6 in cask) prior to release.
Which DOCG in Barolo produces an aromatic red wine from the local Ruchè grape?
Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato DOCG
What are the 3 DOCG’s of Barolo that produce wine from 100% Dolcetto?
Dogliani DOCG
Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba DOCG
Dolcetto di Ovada Superiore DOCG
Gavi DOCG’s dry, mineral-tinged and generally still white wines are produced from what grape?
Cortese
What area is the largest producer of DOCG wines in Italy?
Asti DOCG
What grape is used to produce the frizzante/spumante wines of Asti?
Moscato Bianco
In Asti DOCG, where does secondary fermentation generally take place?
In stainless steel tanks using the Charmat Method.
What is the general alcohol level of Moscato d’Asti?
4.5% to 6.5%
Which DOCG of Barolo produces sparkling wine in the same style Champagne and Franciacorta?
Alta Langa DOCG
What grapes are used to produce the sparkling wines of Alta Langa DOCG?
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
What are the aging requirements of the sparkling wines of Alta Langa DOCG?
- Spumante* wines may not be released for 30 months after harvest
- Riserva* wines may not be released for 36 months.
What style of wine is produced from Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG?
Generally sparkling reds that are ususally sweet and suitable as a dessert accompaniment.
Among the 20 wine producing regions of Italy, which one ranks last in volume of production?
Valle d’Aosta
What was Italy’s first (and most regularly ridiculed) white wine DOCG?
Romagna Albana DOCG
What grape is used to make the white wines of Romagna Albana?
The Albana grape in a range of styles. The most promising versions are passito.
What grape is used to produce the white wines of Bolognesi Pignoletto DOCG and Pignoletto DOC?
Grechetto
Pignoletto used to be a synonym for Grechetto up until the DOC was created which barred those producers outside of the DOC/DOCG from using the term.
Where is the frizzante red wine Lambrusco made?
In the central provinces of Modena and Reggio found in Emilia-Romagna.
Name some DOC’s that produce Lambrusco
Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro
Lambrusco di Sorbara
Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce
Trentino-Alto Adige is known for the production of what type of wine?
White wine
Although the region supplies a larger quantity of reds than whites.
What grape, produced in Alto Adige, receives its name (if not its origin) from the local village of Tramin?
Gewürztraminer
What are some grapes of Trentino-Alto Adige used to produce red wines?
Schiava
Lagrein
Teroldego
Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Merlot, Pinot Nero
What are some grapes of Trentino-Alto Adige used to produce white wine?
Gewürztraminer
Müller-Thurgau
Pinot Grigio
Pinot Bianco
Chardonnay
Sauvignon Blanc
What region produces more wine than any other in Italy?
Veneto
What are the grapes used to make the red wines of Valpolicella DOC?
Corvina (45%-95%)
blended with Rondinella.
Molinara, Negrara and Oseleta may not exceed 15% of the blend.
What are the requirements for wines labeled superiore of the Valpolicella DOC?
Minimum of 1 year of aging and a higher minimum alcohol.
Describe the appassimento process used to make recioto style wines.
The grapes are dried for over 3 months in special lofts before fermentation, concentrating sugar and extract.
What are the differences between the the wines of Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG and Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG?
Recioto della Valpolicella wines are usually dried for an additional month and the resulting wine is semi-sweet to sweet.
Whereas Amarone della Valpolicella is fermented to dryness or near dryness and spends an additional 2 years aging prior to release.
What does riserva inidcate on a bottle of Amarone?
That the wine was aged for a minimum of 4 years.
(rather than the minimum of 2 years for non riserva)
Describe the process used to make the wines of Valpolicella Ripasso.
The wine is “re-passed” over and re-fermented with the unpressed skins of grapes previously fermented for Amarone or Recioto wine.
What style of wine is produced in Bardolino DOC and Bardolino Superiore DOC?
Red blends using the same grapes as Valpolicella, Corvina and Rondinella. The wines are usually lighter and more neutral is style that the wines of Valpolicella.
Bardonlino Superiore wines require 1 year of aging and an additional 1 percent of alcohol.
What is the principal and most important white wine in Veneto?
Soave DOC
What grapes are used to produce the white wines of Soave DOC?
Garanega (70%)
Trebbiano di Soave and Chardonnay
What makes Soave Superiore DOCG different from Soave DOC?
Soave Superiore DOCG covers wine from a specified sub region (classico region) of Soave DOC.
Soave Superiore wines are aged for at least 1 year and may be called riserva with a minimum of 2 years of aging.
Describe the wines of Recioto di Soave DOCG.
Grapes produced in the same ddelimited area as Soave Superiore are dried from 4 to 6 months. Botrytis is encouraged and the wines may be spumante.
What method is used for secondary fermentation in the production of Prosecco?
The Charmat method where the wine undergoes secondary fermentation in large autoclaves, which keep the wine under pressure.
What is the difference between spumante wines and frizzante wines?
- Spumante* wines are fully sparkling with a minimum 3.5 atmospheres of pressure.
- Frizzante* wines are slightly sparkling with 1.0-2.5 atmospheres of pressure.
What is the name of the grape used to make Prosecco?
Glera,
Although, being that Prosecco is synomous with Glera, only those wines that are NOT produced at the Prosecco DOC level will list the grape as Glera.
In order for a Prosecco produced at the DOCG level to be released with a vintage date, what % of the wine must be harvested in the stated year?
85%
In the 2 DOCG zones that produce Prosecco, what is the minimum % of the wine that must be made from the Prosecco grape (Glera)?
85%
Although Friuli receives the most acclaim for its white wines, what is the most planted grape?
Merlot
