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Vocabulary Flashcards

0
Q

Agronomy

A

The science of soil management and crop production

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1
Q

Abboccato

A

Semisweet

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2
Q

Alberello

A

Little tree of bush; a term for a spur trained bush vine. Bush vines usually without any canes or other supports are found in puglia and Sicily in particular. Their compact size helps them resist strong winds, and their shape helps shade grapes from intense sunlight.

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3
Q

Amabile

A

Semisweet

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4
Q

Amaro

A

Bitter; used as a tasting term and as a name for an aperitif liqueur. The word is thought to be the root of the name Amarone, given to the dry wines of Verona made from semi-dried grapes.

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5
Q

Annata

A

Vintage

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6
Q

Anthocyanins

A

Phenolic compounds that give color to red wine.

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7
Q

Appassimento

A

The process of drying grapes, usually on straw mats in airy lofts, to concentrate their sugars. Wines made from this process are usually rich and sweet, but in some instances can be dry, with only the perception of sweetness.

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8
Q

Argilla

A

Clay. Can be either heavy and hard to work or mixed with other components such as limestone and sand. Heavier clay soils are seen as undesirable because they retain too much water and can drown vines.

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9
Q

Azienda agricola

A

A winery or estate that produces it’s wines from at least half estate grown grapes.

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10
Q

Barrique

A

A 225 liter cask made if French oak. Also known as botticella.

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11
Q

Bianco

A

White wine

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12
Q

Bicchiere

A

Glass

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13
Q

Botrytis

A

A grape fungus that in a specific form called botrytis cinerrea, can be beneficial. In the right conditions creates a chemical reaction in which tannins are consumed and glycerol is formed. When botrytis attacks in this way, it is called noble rot and the grapes it affects are made into glycerine rich sweet wines.

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14
Q

Botte

A

Large cask for aging wine. Traditionally made from chestnut or slavonian oak. Usually very large, a typical capacity being 50 hectoliters (about 5000 bottles) also called fusto.

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15
Q

Bottiglia

A

Bottle

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16
Q

Bricco

A

Piedmontese term for hilltop vineyard. Sometimes bric.

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17
Q

Brut

A

Dry sparkling wine. Extra brut means very dry. See also pas dose.

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18
Q

Calcareous

A

Any soil with a proportion of limestone mixed in. Typically a cool, well drained soil that allows grapes to preserve their acidity.

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19
Q

Cantina

A

Winery/cellar

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20
Q

Caraffa

A

Decanter

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21
Q

Cascina

A

Farmhouse. Often used as part of a winery name.

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22
Q

Cavatappi

A

Corkscrew

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23
Q

Chiaretto

A

A rose wine, particular one made in bardolino in the veneto.

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24
Chinato
A bitter, aromatized wine made by infusing herbs into a base of Barolo wine.
25
Classico
Classic. Typically used to denote a historic area within a larger zone.
26
Clone
A population of vines propagated from the same mother plant.
27
Colle/Collina
Hills
28
Consorzio
An association, or consortium of producers.
29
Contadino
Farmer
30
Cordone speronata
A system of training vines along low wires, to take advantage of ground heat and to restrict production. Differs from guyot as their is a permanent branch from which buds are formed.
31
Corposo
Full bodied
32
Cremant
French term for a sparkling wine made outside of champagne, but also used to denote a sparkling wine with slightly lower atmospheric pressure than that of champagne.
33
Cru
Single vineyard
34
Cuvée
French term for a blend of wines from different grapes.
35
DOC(G)
Denominazione di origine controllata (e garantita) or denomination of controlled origin. The two highest italian wine classifications.
36
Degustazione
Wine tasting, also assaggio.
37
Dolce
Sweet
38
Enologo
Winemaker
39
Enology
The study of wine and winemaking
40
Enoteca
Wine shop or wine bar
41
Enotria
Anglicized spelling of Oenotria, the Ancient Greek name for Italy which means land of wine.
42
Etichetta
Label
43
Ettaro
Hectare
44
Extract
Technically, all of the solids in a wine, from sugars to minerals to glycerols. A wine said to be extracted has a full, syrupy feel on the palate, almost chewy. Reds have more extract than whites because they have more phenolic compounds.
45
Fattoria
A large wine estate. Traditionally, the .........was the central winery on a share cropping farm, to which the various poderi (sharecroppers) would contribute a portion of their grapes.
46
Fiasco
Flask, as in the straw covered bottles of chianti
47
Fortificato
Fortified, also liqueroso. Refers to a wine usually sweet, to which some spirits have been added.
48
Fresco
Fresh
49
Frizzante
Lightly bubbly
50
Galestro
Rocky schist like soils found in Tuscany. Also a name for a light white table wine made in Tuscany.
51
Giovane
Young
52
Grappa
Brandy made from the skins, stems, seeds, and pulp of grapes after they are pressed. See also vinaccia.
53
Grappolo
Bunch of grapes
54
Graticci
Straw mats used to dry grapes in the appassimento process.
55
Guyot
System of training vines on low wires. Unlike cordone speronata the main branch from which the grapes hang is replaced every year. Both guyot and cordone speronata allow producers to plant vines more densely and to more carefully control the production of each vine.
56
Hectare
The standard unit of vineyard area in Europe. On ......equals 2.471 acres.
57
IGT
Indicazione geografica tipica, or geographic origin wine.
58
Imbottigliato all'origine
Estate bottled
59
Invecchiato
Aged
60
Lees
Solids that collect in a fermentation vessel, including spent yeast cells.
61
Macerate/macerazione
The process of leaving the skins in fermenting wine to extract color and tannin.
62
Marchio
Proprietary name or brand.
63
Marl
Cool, calcareous clay
64
Metodo charmat
The ......or tank method of sparkling winemaking, in which the secondary fermentation of the wine is carried out in a large pressurized tank.
65
Metodo Classico/champenoise/tradizionale
The ........ Method or method champenoise, of sparkling winemaking in which sugar and yeast are added to a base wine to induce a secondary fermentation in the bottle.
66
Mosto
Must
67
Mosto cotto
Literally, cooked must. Term used for grape must whose sugars are concentrated by heating; used to fortify certain types of Marsala wine.
68
Muffa nobile
Noble rot
69
Occhio di pernice
Literally eye of the partridge. Term used for rose colored vin santo made from a predominance of red grapes.
70
Pas dose
Term used to describe very dry sparkling wines, those to which a final dose of liquor has not been added.
71
Passito
Usually sweet wine from semi dried grapes
72
Pergola
A system of vine training in which the vines are draped over high trellises, usually supported by vine arms. Differs from tendone in that the canopy of grapes is typically tilted upward, rather than lying flat. Widely used in Trentino-Alto Adige.
73
Phylloxera
A small aphid that attacks grapevines. Phylloxera destroyed most of the vineyards of Europe before the turn of the last century, and has done damage in California as well.
74
Podere
Small farm holding, traditionally of a sharecropper.
75
Polyphenols/phenols
Chemical compounds found in abundance in wine, especially in the seeds, stems and skins. They include pigments that give wine color.
76
Profumo
Scent
77
Recioto
A sweet wine made from semi dried grapes. Term used primarily in the veneto. See also appassimento.
78
Riserva
Reserve. Term used to describe a DOC(G) wine aged for a prescribed length of time.
79
Ronco
Another local term for hills or hillside vineyards used especially in Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
80
Rosato
Rose wine
81
Rosso
Red wine
82
Rovere
Oak
83
Sapore
Flavor
84
Scirocco
Warm breeze from North Africa. Another phenomenon that affects the climate in much of southern Italy.
85
Secco
Dry
86
Sentore di tappo
To be corked, or spoiled from cork mold. Sa di tappo means it is corked.
87
Sfursat/sforsato
A term used in lombardys valtellina to describe a wine made from using dried grapes, essentially the same as Amarone except that it is made from different grapes.
88
Sifone
Partially fermented grape must, containing as much as 25 percent pure alcohol, used to fortify some versions of Marsala wine.
89
Solera
Typically associated with sherry, it is a system of topping off aging wines in barrels by adding fractions of younger wine. Also used in making Marsala.
90
Sori
Piedmontese term for an especially well exposed vineyard or slope
91
Spumante
Sparkling wine
92
Sughero
Cork material
93
Superiore
A DOC wine that adheres to a certain higher standard, usually but not always higher natural alcohol
94
Tappo
Cork as in a closure to a bottle
95
Tendone
System of training vines on high, flat trellises. Used in the plains to combat humidity by keeping grapes off the ground. Typically associated with mass production, although carefully cropped ........vines can produce excellent grapes.
96
Tenuta
Wine estate
97
Terreno
Soil
98
Terroir
Total natural environment of a vine; soil, climate, aspect. Sense of place.
99
Tranquillo/vino tranquillo
Still wine
100
Tufa
Corruption of the French tuffeau, calcareous rock.
101
Uva
Grape
102
Uvaggio
Blend of grapes
103
Vecchio
Old or aged, sometimes an official term on labels that can be used only when a wine meets certain minimum aging requirements. Also invecchiato.
104
Vendemmia
Harvest
105
Vendemmia tardiva
Late harvest, as in grapes that are allowed to hang on the vine to become super-ripe. Wines labelled ......are most often sweet.
106
Vigneron
French word for vine grower
107
Vigneto
Vineyard
108
Vino Santo
Holy wine, usually semi sweet to sweet made from grapes that have been let to fry in lofts. Long aged in small wood barrels, have nutty resins flavor.
109
Vinaccia
Grape pomace, or the stems, seeds, skins and pulp left after grapes are pressed.
110
Vino da taglio
Cutting wine used for blending, mostly to bring alcohol levels up to required standards.
111
Vino da tavola
Table wine, often anonymous bulk wine that isn't given DOC status. Sometimes can be high end production.
112
Vino Novello
New or nouveau wine
113
Vitigno
Vine variety
114
VQPRD | VSQPRD
Acronym used on wine labels throughout the European community to denote a quality wine made in a delimited region. Sparkling

Italy (11 decks)

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