Glossary

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M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - Z

Abboccato
Semi-dry. Less sweet than amabile.

Amabile
Semi-sweet, usually in reference to sparkling wine.

Amaro
Bitter.

Annata
A wine's vintage year.

Asciutto
Totally dry.

Azienda agricola, agraria or vitivinicola
A farm or estate which produces all or most of the grapes for wine sold under its labels.

Bianco
White (wine).

Botte
Cask or barrel.

Botticella
Small cask.

Bottiglia
Bottle.

Brut
Dry, usually in reference to sparkling wine.

Cantina
Cellars or winery.

Cantina sociale
Cooperative winery.

Casa vinicola
Wine house or merchant (commerciante) whose bottlings come mainly from purchased grapes or wines.

Cascina
Farmhouse, often used for estate.

Castello
Castle.

Cerasuolo
Cherry-hued rosé (wine).

Chiaretto
Deep rosé (wine).

Classico
The historic core of a DOC wine production zone.

Coltivatore
Cultivator.

Consorzio
Consortium of producers.

DOC
Abbreviation for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or "controlled place name," indicating details about where a wine comes from, the grapes used in it and how it was produced.

DOCG
Abbreviation for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, or "controlled and guaranteed place name," indicating the details for wine production as listed for DOC but with stricteer qualifications.

Dolce
Sweet.

Enologo
Enologist with a university degree; enotecnico is a wine making technician with a diploma.

Enoteca
Literally, a "wine library," referring to both publicly sponsored displays and privately owned shops.

Ettaro
Hectare (2.471 acres) the standard measure of vineyard surface in Italy.

Etichetta
Label.

Ettolitro
Hectoliter, or 100 liters, the standard measure of wine volume in Italy.

Fattoria
Farm or estate.

Fermentazione naturale
Natural fermentation.

Fiasco
Traditional straw-cased bottle typically used by Chianti producers in the 1970s.

Frizzante or frizzantino
Fizzy or faintly fizzy (wine).

Frutta
Fruit.

Frutti di bosco
Literally, fruits of the forest, such as raspberries, blackberries and strawberries.

Gradazione alcoolica (grad. alc.)
Alcoholic degree/percentage.

IGT
Indicazione Geografica Tipica, or typical place name, designate wines that can come from a large variety of grapes from a broad area. This classification gives producers a large degree of individual expression, unlike the DOC/DOCG.

Imbottigliata
Bottled.

Imbottigliato dal produttore all’origin
Bottled by the producer at the source.

Imbottigliato dalla cantina sociale
Bottled by a cooperative winery.

Invecchiato
Aged (wine).

Liquoroso
Strong wine, sometimes fortified but usually of naturally high alcoholic grade.

Litro
Liter.

Maso
A holding, often referring to a vineyard or estate.

Masseria
Farm or estate.

Metodo classico or tradizionale
Terms for sparkling wine made by the bottle fermentation method, replacing the terms champenois or champenoise, which can no longer be used in Italy.

Millesimato
Vintage dated sparkling wine.

Nero
Black.

Passito
Wine style made from partially dried grapes (to concentrate flavors). Technique typically used to make sweet wines.

Pastoso
Medium dry.

Podere
Small wine estate or farm.

Produttore
Producer.

Recioto
Wine made from partly dried grapes in the passito style. Often sweet and strong.

Riserva
Reserve. Indicates a DOC or DOCG wine aged for a specific time period. Implies a wine is of better than average quality, thereby meriting the additional aging.

Rosato
Rosé (wine).

Rosso
Red (wine).

Scelto
Selected. Term used for certain late harvested DOC wines. Auslese in German (sometimes used in Italy's province of Alto Adige).

Secco
Dry (wine).

Semi-secco
Medium sweet, usually in sparkling wine.

Spumante
Sparkling, for dry or sweet wines.

Stabilimento
Firm.

Superiore
Denotes DOC wine that meets standards above the normal requirements (higher alcohol, longer aging, a special subzone), though conditions vary.

Tenimento
Farm.

Tenuta
Farm or estate.

Uva
Grape. Uva passa is a dried grape to be used for wine. Uvetta, uva secca or sultanina are terms for raisin.

Vecchio
Old, to describe aged DOC wines; stravecchio, very old.

Vendemmia
Harvest or vintage. Vendemmia tardiva, late harvest, defines wines from grapes left beyond the usual harvest date to ripen more fully on the vine.

Vigna or vigneto
Vineyard. Vigna may be used under DOC and DOCG for approved single vineyard wines.

Vignaiolo or viticoltore
Terms for grape grower.

Villa
Manor.

Vinificazione
Vinification.

Vino
Wine. Vino da arrosto, a robust aged red suited to roast meats.

Vino da tavola
Table wine, applies loosely to most non-DOCs not classified as IGT.

Vino novello
New wine, usually red, that must be bottled and sold within the year of harvest.

Vino novello
Wine of the most recent vintage made in an easy-drinking and fruity style for early consumption, akin to the French “nouveau.”

Vin santo
Wine made from grapes dried on straw mats over the winter to concentrate flavors.

Vite
Vine.

Viticoltura
Vine cultivation, viticuture.

Vitigno
Vine or grape variety.

Vivace
Lively, for lightly bubbly wines.