Piedmont Flashcards
In what year did Gaja go back to producing under the Barolo / Barbaresco DOCGs?
2013
Alta Langa grapes, requirements and minimum elevation?
- min 90% combined chardonnay, pinot noir
- min 250m
- must be vintage dated
- methode traditionnelle, the first in Piedmont!
How many times is Moscato d’Asti fermented?
Only once (in pressurized tanks)
G. Conterno produces Barolo wines from which 3 MGAs?
Francia (purchased in ‘74), Ceretta (2008), Arione (2015). All Serralunga.
1st producer of Barolo to list a single vineyard? What year? Cru?
Marcarini; 1958; Brunate
Percristina comes from what commune and cru? Producer?
Monforte d’Alba, Mosconi, Domenico Clerico
Name the 3 DOCGs of Dolcetto
- Ovada DOCG (Dolcetto di Ovada Superiore)
- Dogliani DOCG
- Diana d’Alba DOCG
- all 100% Dolcetto
What is Vermentino called in Piedmont? In Liguria?
Favorita, Pigato
In what commune is the Villero vineyard?
Castiglione Falletto
What were the first 3 areas to be classified as a DOCG?
1985 – Brunello di Montalcino, Barolo and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Mountain range that serves as the spine of Italy?
Appenine Mountains
Piedmont’s most planted red grape?
Barbera
What is the name of the south-facing hills in Piedmont that are planted with prized Nebbiolo?
Sorí
How many DOCs and DOCGs are there in Piedmont?
17 DOCG, 42 DOC
Which has a higher Spanna percentage? Gattinara or Ghemme?
- Gattinara higher:
Min 90% spanna, max 10% bonarda di Gattinara and 4% vespolina - Ghemme:
Min 85% spanna, max 15% combined vespolina and bonarda novarese (uva rara)
Name 3 producers of Gattinara
Antoniolo, Travaglini, Vallana, Nervi (acquired by G. Conterno in 2018)
Gattinara and Ghemme are on which banks of the Sesia river?
Gattinara (Right bank); (Ghemme) Left bank
The overarching DOC/Gs Colline Novaresi includes which 4 Piedmont DOCs?
- Novaresi - R side/bank of Sesia
- Boca, Ghemme, Sizzano and Fara
The overaching DOC Costa della Sesia includes which 3 Piedmont DOCs?
- Sesia - L side/bank of Sesia
- Bramaterra, Gattinara, Lessona
Oldest winery in Gattinara?
Nervi - acquired by G. Conterno in 2018
Synonym of Nebbiolo in Carema?
Picoutèner/Picotendro
Synonym of Nebbiolo in Val d’Ossola?
Prünent
Synonym of Nebbiolo in Valtellina?
Chiavennasca
Synonym of Nebbiolo in Ghemme/Gattinara?
Spanna
Which DOCG would you most likely find wine bottled in the futura 500mL bottle - bottle shape similar to Inniskillin?
Moscato di Scanzo DOCG - sweet red passito wine
Which region has an earlier budbeak and harvest? Langhe or Valtellina?
- Both for Valtellina!
- Bud break in Valtellina is 2 weeks earlier than in the Langhe but harvest is also 2 weeks later (intense summer heat vines shut down in July)
- harvest can run until mid-November
Name the only 2 Italian regions that do not have an IGT category
Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta
What is the 2nd longest river in Italy after the Po?
Adige River
What 5 seas surround the country of Italy?
- Ligurian: NE nearest to France and Florence
- Tyrrhenian: SE nearest of Naples; W of Sardinia
- Adriatic: NW nearest to Croatia
- Ionian: SW nearest to Sicily
- *Technically, it is just one sea, the Mediterranean, but specific basins go by different names
Which 4 countries does Italy border?
France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia
Which 3 communes for Barolo are entirely included in the DOCG?
Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d’Alba
Name 3 minor communes for Barolo
Diano d’Alba, Novello, Verduno, Grinzane Cavour, Cherasco (smallest of all), Roddi
Gaja’s single-vineyard Cabernet-based wine in Barbaresco was Piedmont’s first Cab Sauv vineyard, planted in 1978. What is this vineyard?
Darmagi
_____ was the first vintage that G. Conterno’s Barolo Monfortino that was not entirely from the _______ vineyard with the purchase of ______ vineyard
2015, Cascina Francia (M), Arione
1st white DOC in 1966?
- Vernaccia di San Gimignano (Tuscany)
- Min 85% vernaccia, max 15 % non aromatic grapes ( chard….)
- Located south of Firenze, within the chianti zone
- Producers: Panizzi, Falchini
1st white DOCG in 1987?
- Albana di Romagna (Emilia-Romagna)
- First DOCG and first white DOCG!!
- 100% Albana; dry, semi-sweet, sweet (passito), sparkling
- SE of Bologna
2nd most planted red grape in Italy?
Montepulciano
Which mountain range serves as the spine of Italy (north to south)?
Apennine
Which mountain range brackets the northern regions, provides a rain shadow?
Alps
Hills around Alba?
Langhe
Hills around Asti?
Monferrato
Which wine category falls under Protected Geographical Indication (PGI)?
- IGP: Indicazione Geografica Protetta (used to be IGT…Tipica)
- 1992: aka Gorias Law or Law 164; created a buffer (IGT) between DOC and Table wine, a more relaxed regulation, offering winemakers wider freedoms
- 1994: IGT first appeared
Which wine category falls under Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)?
- DOC: Denominazione Di Origine Controllata (1963)
- DOCG: Denominazione Di Origine Controllata e Garantita (since 1984)
Rules for “Vino” and “Vino Varietali”, wines without geographical indication?
- VINO: Vintage may appear on the label. These wines may be red, white, or rosado; and they may bespumanteorfrizzante
- VINI VARIETALI: These varieties may appear on the label for still wines: cab-s-f (the two may be blended and called “Cabernet”), syrah, merlot, chardonnay, and sauvignon
Provinces in Piedmont (3)?
- Cuneo - lies btw Roero and Barolo/Barbaresco (SW)
- Asti
- Alessandria (most Eastern)
T or F? Less than 5% of Piedmontese vineyards are officially classed as flat and nearly all of the vineyards in Piedmont are planted on hills ranging in elevation from 150 to 450 meters above sea level
True!
In which minor Barolo commune does the grape Nascetta only grow?
- Novello
- Producers: Elvio Cogno, Le Strette and Piette
T or F? Barbera del Monferrato DOCG is produced in virtually the same area as Barbera d’Asti DOCG
True!
How does the Po river run?
Runs E to W; starts from the Western Alps in Monte Viso (highest mountain in the Cottian alps) and spills into the Adriatic Sea near Venice