Northern Italy Flashcards
What is the local synonym for Nebbiolo in Gattinara and Ghemme?
Spanna
What are the current Barolo Riserva aging requirements?
62 months from November 1 of the harvest year, including 18 months in wood
What types of soils are more common in Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba?
Serravallian (Helvetian) sandstone soils, which create wines with more structure.
IGT wines are considered what by the European Union?
PGI (Protected Geographical Indication)
What is Piedmont’s most planted white grape?
Moscato Bianco
Name three “modern” producers of Barolo?
Paolo Scavino, Luciano Sandrone, Elio Altare
What is the soil and style of wine of Roero Nebbiolo?
The sandy soils north of the commune of Alba, provide a lighter style of Nebbiolo than Barolo or Barbaresco, and many producers are experimenting with modern approaches.
What is the red grape of Roero DOCG and what is allowable minimum?
Nebbiolo, minimum of 95%
What are Barbaresco aging requirements?
Minimum 26 months from November 1 of the harvest year (including minimum 9 months in wood), may be released after January 1 of the third year following the harvest
What is Piedmont’s most planted red grape?
Barbera
How long must a DOC be recognized before it is able to apply for DOCG?
5 years
What are the 11 communes of production of Barolo?
Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Cherasco, Diano d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba, Monforte d’Alba, La Morra, Novello, Verduno, Grinzane Cavour, and Roddi.
What are considered the trio of major Piedmontese red grapes?
Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, and Barbera
What type of soil characterizes the vineyards of La Morra and Barolo?
Tortonian soils, which contain a higher proportion of calcareous marl provide a softer style of wine
Other than the big three, name six other indigenous red grapes of Piedmont?
Brachetto, Grignolino, Ruche, Croatina, Vespolina, Freisa
Name three “traditionalist” Barolo producers?
Giacomo Conterno, Bartolo Mascarello, Giuseppe Rinaldi
What are the current Barolo aging requirements?
38 months from November 1 of the harvest year, including 18 months in wood
When did the first IGT’s appear?
1994
What are the aging requirements for Barbera d’Asti Superiore?
14 months from November 1 of the harvest year, including at least 6 months in oak
DOC and DOCG wines are considered what by the European Union?
PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), on par with France’s AOC/AOP
Barolo and Barbaresco are located along the ________ River in the __________ Province, an area encapsulated by the larger ________DOC
Tanaro, Cuneo, Langhe
Prior to 2010 what were the aging requirements for Barolo?
Minimum three years of aging, two of which were in oak
Other than Roero, what are two Nebbiolo based DOCG reds that are produced in the hills north of the Po River?
Gattinara DOCG and Ghemme DOCG
When was the first DOCG awarded? What were the three DOC’s that were first elevated to DOCG?
First DOC awarded in 1980 (Category introduced in 1963)
Brunello di Montalcino
Barolo
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
What do most DOCG’s and many DOC’s stipulate that is a notable departure from the legal requirements set by most french appellations?
Minimum aging requirements for the wines.
What are the regulations on varieties for Gattinara DOCG?
Minimum 90% Spanna (Nebbiolo), maximum 10% in total of Bonarda di Gattinara and Vespolina (Vespolina can not exceed 4%)
What kind of climate does Piedmont experience?
A continental climate in which the Alps provide a “rain shadow” effect, although autumn hail can be a worry in the Langhe hills
What is the white grape of Roero DOCG and what is the allowable minimum?
Minimum 95% Arneis
Name four non-international white grapes grown in Piedmont?
Cortese, Arneis, Favorita (Vermentino), and Erbaluce
What are Barbaresco Riserva aging requirements?
Minimum 50 months from November 1 of the harvest year (minimum 9 months in wood), may be released after January 1 of the fifth year following the harvest
What are the two DOCG’s that focus on Barbera and when did they become DOCG’s
Barbera d’Asti DOCG and Barbera del Monferrato Superiore DOCG. They beceame DOCG’s in 2008
What are the regulations on varieties for Ghemme DOCG?
Minimum 85% Spanna (Nebbiolo), combined maximum 15% Vespolina and Uva Rara (Bonarda Novarese)
What river cuts through the heart of Piedmont as it flows eastward from its headwaters in the Western Alps?
The Po River
What is Barolo Chinato?
A DOCG aromatized wine that is flavored with quinine
Where is Carema DOC?
In Piedmont, near the border of the Valle d’Aosta. It produces fragrant Nebbiolo wines, especially in warmer vintages
When did the crus of Barbaresco and Barolo finally become enshrined as legal menzioni geografiche aggiuntive (geographic areas) of the DOCG’s?
2007 and 2010 respectively
What two grapes are often blended with Nebbiolo in Gattinara and Ghemme ?
Vespolina and Bonarda
Which five communes represent almost 90% of the DOCG’s demarcated land?
Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d’Alba, Monforte d’Alba, and La Morra
Define the Piedmontese term “sori”.
Piemontese dialect for the part of the hillside where the snow melts first, indicating full southern exposure and therefore the best places for vines.
Where is Roero?
On the northwestern bank of the Tanaro River, opposite Barolo and Barbaresco
When was Goria’s Law instituted and what did it do?
It established the category of Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) in 1992, with more relaxed regulations that offered winemakers more freedom.
Barbaresco productions is concentrated in which three towns?
Barbaresco, Neive, and Treiso. A portion of Alba is also permitted to make the wine
What mountain range serves as the spine of Italy and what other mountain range brackets the northern regions?
The Apennine Mountains are the spine and the Alps bracket the northern regions
What does Piedmont mean?
“the foot of the mountain”
Where does most of the grape-growing occur in Piedmont? In what provinces?
In the foothills south of the Po Valley, in the provinces of Asti, Alessandria, and Cuneo
What river to the DOCG’s of Gattinara and Ghemme straddle?
The Sesia River
What are the two regions near Ghemme that produce similar Nebbiolo-based red blends?
Lessona DOC and Sizzano DOC
When was modern Italy unified? When was the provinde of Trentino-Alto Adige added?
Modern Italy was unified as recently as 1861 and Trentino-Alto Adige was not added until the end of World War I
What are the aging requirements for Barbera d’Asti normale?
4 months from November 1 of the harvest year
Translate the following Italian terms:
- Uva
- Vite
- Vigna / Vigneto
- Vendemmia
- Grape
- Vine
- Vineyard
- Harvest
