• WINE OF THE MONTH SELECTIONS
• ABOUT ITALIAN WINES
• WINE TASTING TIPS
• FOOD & WINE
• WINE REVIEWS & MUSINGS
• DC WINE BARS & ITALIAN RESTAURANTS
• THINGS TO DO &
  SEE IN ITALY
• WINE RESOURCES

 

Abbazia (ah bah zee' ah) — an abbey.

Abboccato (ah boh ka’ toe) — semi-dry (slightly sweet) and used to indicate a type of wine

Amabile (ah mah’ bee lay) — semi-sweet (“gently” sweet)

Annata (ah not’ ah) — means vintage year (i.e., year the grapes were harvested)

Azienda Agricola (ah zee yen' da ah gree' coh lah) — a farm or estate that grows grapes and produces its own wines.

Azienda Vinicola (ah zee yen' da vee nee' coh lah) — a winemaking firm that buys most or all of its grapes from growers.

Barrique (bahr reek') — a French term used to indicate an oak barrel that holds 225 liters (59 US gallons) of wine, which is considerably smaller than the traditional Italian botte, large wooden casks that hold from 1,000 liters (264 gallons) to 15,000 liters (3,962 gallons). Barriques originated in France but today are used extensively throughout the Italian wine industry. Complexity, soft tannins and strong new oak aromas and flavours are the benchmarks of barrique-aged wines.

Bianco (bee ahn’ koh) — white wine

Bicchiere   (bik' kyere) — wineglass; drinking glass

Bottiglia (bo tee’ lee yah) — bottle

Bricco, Bric (bric’ coh; brick) — northern Italian dialect for “ridge” or “slope” to indicate a desirable location for vines

Brut (broot) — dry sparkling wine

Cantina (can tea nuh) — another name for a winery

Cantina Sociale (can tea nuh soh chi-ah' leh) — a producer or cellar that is a member of a winegrower's cooperative

Cascina (kah shi’ nah) — a farmhouse, often used to indicate a wine estate

Cerasuolo  (chera' zwolo) — cherry red; also, a Sicilian DOCG wine of that color

Classico (clah’ see coh) — from the central (and usually oldest) zone of a production area e.g., Chianti Classico

Cooperativa Sociale (ko awp eh rah tee' vah soh chi-ah' leh) — a winegrowers' cooperative.

Cru (kru) — a French term indicating a vineyard or group of vineyards with similar features or attributes and generally refers to wines produced with grapes from a single vineyard. As in many other wine-producing countries, cru-designated bottlings are currently in vogue throughout Italy

Dolce (dole chay’) — indicates a sweet or dessert wine

Enologia  (en oh low gee' ah) —  enology; process of winemaking

Enoteca (en oh tek' ah) — literally, a wine library but generally refers to public or private shops with wines for sale and/or tasting. Today, may serve light appetizers along with wines

Fattoria (fat toh ree’ ah) a farm or estate that may include vineyards

Frizzante (free zahn’ tae)  — a delightful and evocative Italian word for lightly sparkling or fizzy

Grappa  (grap' pah) — spirit made by distilling grape pomace (skins and seeds)

Imbottiglato all’Origine (im bot tee yahl’ toe ahl oh ree’ gee nae) — estate-bottled

Indicazione Geografica Tipica or IGT (in dae caht zee oh’ nae gee oh’ graf’ e cah tee’ pee ca) — the middle tier of the Italian quality wine pyramid. This appellation was created in order to accommodate growers who for one reason or another couldn't - or didn’t want to - meet the requirements for DOC or DOCG designation. This appellation permits producers greater flexibility in both vineyard management and cellaring procedures in crafting wines. But fewer rules don't necessarily mean lower quality as some of Italy’s most famous (and expensive) wines fall under this designation

Liquoroso (lee kwo roh’ so) — a fortified wine such as Marsala or Barolo Chinato whose alcohol level has bee increased through additional alcohol

Maceration (mass er ray’ shun) — a process used primarily in production of red wines designed to extract some of the key phenolic compounds found in grapes such as color, tannins and the prime aroma compounds found in grape skins. The process typically takes place during or after fermentation is complete and involves steeping grape skins and solids in the newly-produced wine. Generally, the longer the maceration period the greater the extraction of these compounds from the grapes. But the process is subject to diminishing returns with most of the extraction taking place in the initial stages of maceration and extraction continually diminishing in strength over the term of the maceration.

Masseria (mass e ree' ah) — term for a farm or estate most often used in the Puglia region

MGA or Menzione Geografiche Agguntive (men zee oh' nay geo graf fee' kay ah zhun tee' vay) — refers to a specific delimited area of production in the Barolo appellation. Barolo MGA began with the 2010 vintage and, as of this posting, there are 170 officially recognized MGA's.

Passito (pah seet’ toh) — a concentrated sweet dessert-style wine made from semi-dried grapes

Pesante  (peh zahn' tay) — heavy or overly alcoholic

Podere (poh dae’ rae) — a small farm or rural wine estate

Poggio (po’ zho) — a small hill

Produttore (pro due tor’ ray) — literally, producer which provides information on where and who made the wine

Recioto (ree cho’ toh) — intensely flavored, sweet red wine made from partially-dried grapes in the Veneto region of north-eastern Italy

Riserva (ree zerv’ ah) — indicates that the wine has been aged for an additional period of time (relative to the non-riserva version) before release. Riserva wines may also have more strict production requirements and/or higher minimum alcohol levels

Robusto  (roh boos' toh) — robust; full-bodied

Rosato (row zah’ toh)  — a rosé wine

Rosso (roh’ so) — a red wine

Secco (sek’ coh) — a dry wine. This term indicates that most if not all the grapes' natural sugars have been fermented to alcohol leaving the wine tasting "dry".

Semisecco (sem e sek' coh) — medium sweet, typically used to describe a sparkling wine

Sori (sore rhee) — from the northern Italian dialect indicating a favorable, south-facing hillside location for vines

Spumante (spoo mahn’ tae) — a sparkling dry or sweet wine

Superiore (su pee rio’ ree) — a quality distinction indicating a wine that has met certain ageing, alcohol level, crop yield and/or other defined quality standards

Tenuta (tay new’ tah) — a farm or estate

Tradizionale or metodo classico (tra ditzee ohn ahl' leh; meh toe doe clah’ see coh) — terms for sparkling wines that utilize the bottle fermentation process that originated in the Champagne region of France and now used throughout Italy

Vendemmia (ven dame’ me ah) — a specific harvest or vintage. Vendemmia tardiva translates as "late harvest" and refers to grapes that are left to fully ripen on the vine

Vigna, Vigneto (veen ya’, veen yet’ toe) — indicates a vineyard-specific or cru wine usually followed by the name of the vineyard. This term can only be used if all the grapes used come from the named vineyard

Vin Santo (vin san’ toe) — a category of sweet dessert wine ("holy wine") made from semi-dried grapes that are fermented in oak barriques

Vino da Tavola (vee' noh dah ta' vo lah) — table wine or more generally a wine that is not a classified wine such as DOC or IGT

Vivace (vee vah' chey) — lively as in lightly sparkling wines