Italian Wine Overview Flashcards
Northwest Regions
Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria, Aosta Valley
Cool Climate
Reds - elegant, aromatic, earthy
White - high acidity
Northeast Regions
Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia
Cooler climate with warmer areas influenced by Adriatic Sea
Reds - more fruit but still elegant
White - Found in the hills (Soave grape)
Central Regions
Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Lazio, Abruzzo
Mediterranean climate
Reds shine here - especially sangiovese and montepulciano
Southern and Islands Regions
Molise, Campania, Basilicata, Puglia, Calabria,, Sicily, Sardinia’
Warmest regions
Reds - lean toward ripe fruit
White - full body
Superiore
Usually associated with a regional classification that offers a slight bump in quality
Classico
class or historic wine zone within a region
Riserva
wine that has been aged longer than the standard denomination
DOCG
Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantito
73 regions ranked as Italy’s top quality tier. DOCG wines meet b both basic DOC standards along with more rigorous again and quality specifications defined by each region
DOC
Denominazione di Origine Controllata
329 officially designated wine regions. Wines must use official grape varieties and have minimum quality standards. Most DOC wines are decent everyday drinkers
IGP/IGT
Indicazione di Geografica Tipica
Most IGP are table wines from larger geographical areas, but you’ll also find regional wines made with non-Italian grapes. These declassified wines can be over incredible quality.
VdT
Vino de Tavola
Basic table wine with no regional designation
Northwest Grapes
Aosta Valley - petite ravine, petite rouge, nebbiolo
Lombardy - Croatina, chardonnay, barbera, pinot nero (noir), chiavennasco (nebbiolo), pinot gris
Piedmont - asti spumante, moscato, barbera, dolcetto, nebbiolo, gavi, brachetta, ameis, grignolino, ruche, erbaluce
Liguria - vermentino, bosco, rossette, ciliegiolo
Northeast Grapes
Trento - Trento, chardonnay, pinot noir, nosiola. schiava
Alto Adige - schiava, pinot grigio, gewürztraminer, chardonnay, logrein
Friuli-Venezia Giulia - pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, ribolla gialla, verduzzo, merlot, schiappettino
Veneto - Prosecco, soave, lugana, bagnoli, merlot
Emilia-Romagna - Sangiovese, barbera, croatina, pignoletta, lambrusco
Central Italy
Tuscany - sangiovese, brunetto di Montalcino, bordeaux blend, trebbiano, vermentino, vernaccia, vin santo
Le Marche - verdicchio, Montepulciano, lacrima di morrò, vernaccia nera, ciliegiolo
Lazio - trebbiano, grechetto, sangiovese, merlot, cesanese
Umbria - sangiovese, sgranino, trebbiano, grechetto
Abruzzo - Montepulciano, trebbiano
Southern Italy/Islands
Molise - Montepulciano, Tintilia del Molise
Puglia - primitivo (zin), negroamara, sangiovese, Montepulciano, trebbiano, nero di troia
Calabria - gaglioffo, greco nero, magliolo, greco bianco
Basilicata - aglianico
Sicily - marsala, cataratta blanco, chardonnay, grillo, nero d’avola, neretto mascalese, frappato, Syrah
Sardinia - vermentino, Monica nera, nuragus, cannonau (grenache)
