ITALIAN WINE By: Chef Wayne Fullmer

Italian wine History Settled by Etruscans and Greeks which brought winemaking skills with them and then the Romans in the second century developed there methods of making wine Roman wine jug

Basics There are 20 regions of winemakers in Italy 350 types of grapes 4 classifications systems Regions range from high alps to African climates Standard grapes such as pinot noir and merlot are not part of the 350

Four classification systems 1 – VINO DA TAVOLA – this is a table wine; which does not follow current law 2- INDICAZIONE GEOGRAFICA TIPICA (IGT)- this was put into play the Italians because they wanted the old and new wines apart 3 AND 4 - <For older wines> DENOMIZAZIONE DI ORGINE CONTROLLATA(DOC) and DENOMINAZIONE DI ORGINE CONTROLLA E GARANTITA (DOGC)

TWO CATEGORIES OF GRAPES: 1 – ROSSO (red) 2 – BIANCO (white)

Main Types of Red Grapes Sangiovese Nebbiolo Montepulciano Barbera Corvina Nero d’avola Dolcetto Negroamaro Aglianico Sagrantino Malvasia

Main types of White Grapes Trebbiano Moscato Nuragus Pinot Grigio Tocai Friuliano Ribolla Gialla Arneis Malvasia Bianca Pigato Fiano Garganega

Geographical Characteristics Alps in the north Africa in the south Italy is on a peninsula <this makes a range of weather conditions for making wine>

Italian wine regions Aosta Valley Piedmont Liguria Lombardy Trentino-Alto Adige/Sudtirol Friuli-Venezia Giulia Veneto Emilia-Romagna Tuscany Marche Umbria Lazio Abruzzi Molise Campania Basilicata Puglia Calabria Sicily Sardina

Italian Wine Terms to know Anno – vintage Amabile – medium sweet Azienda – estate Bianco – white Cantina – winery Dolce – sweet Grappa – strong Italian brandy Naturale – a sparkling wine Produttore – producer Rossa – red Rosato – rose Secco – dry Spumante- sparkling Vino – wine Vigna- vineyard

Italian Wine Terms to know (cont.) Abboccato- lightly sweet Amabile – semi-sweet Azienda – wine estate Cantina sociale – co-operative winery Chiaretto – very pale red Gradi- alcoholic strength Superiore – wine that has aged well

Italian Wine Label

Italian wine Facts Italy produces 20 % of the worlds wine Italy produces 3.3 billion bottles of wine (2008) The U.S. consumes about 3.3 billion bottles of wine (2008) One in three bottles of wine consumed by a Americans is Italian (30% of Italian wine is exported to the U.S.

Italian wine Facts (cont.) Italy produced more wine then any other country in the world (2008) – that includes France U.S. per capita consumption is about 13 bottles per year Italy per capita consumption is about 45 bottles per year

Popular Italian wines TYPE: Color: Region: Barolo Red Piedmont Amarone Red Veneto Brunello Red Tuscany Barbera Red Piedmont Chanti Red Tuscany

The DOCG wines PIEMONTE (region) Asti and Moscato d’asti Barbaresco Barolo Brachetto d’Acqui or Acqui Dolcetto di Dogliani Superiore or Dogliani Gattinara Gavi or Cortese di Gavi Ghemme Roero

The DOCG wines (cont.) LOMBARDY (region) Franciacorta Sforzato della Valtellina or Sfursat della Valtellina Valtellina Superiore

The DOCG wines (cont.) TUSCANY BRUNELLO di Montalcino Carmigano Chianti Chianit there are many other DOCG wines but these are From my fav regions

Viticulture Features 1- late development of vineyards 2- high yields of grapes 3- grain is planted between rows of vines 4- with olive groves around vines it helps stop animals to roam fields freely

Wine Making Wooden Fermentation has gone away Cement vats and tanks are used most commonly Temperature control accepted Punching down of wine has been replaced by Pumping during Fermentation Oak is generally preferred wood for casks

Wine Making Process Destemming Crushing Primary Fermentation Pressing Secondary Fermentation Filtering the Wine Bottling

Super Tuscans This is any Tuscan Red Wine that does not follow Italian red wine law They changed the classification system of VINO DA TAVOLA to get put into a system

Tasting Italian Wine Using the chart you can help taste wine better

"Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance." --- Benjamin Franklin

Works Citied About.com. (2011, August 4). Retrieved August 4, 2011, from http://wine.about.com Encyclowine: The Wine Enthusiast's Encyclopedia. (2011, Aug 4). Retrieved Aug 4, 2011, from http://www.encyclowine.org Italian cook. (2011, Aug 4). Retrieved Aug 2011, 2001, from http://www.italiancook.ca/wine-making.html Italian Wine Coach. (2011, August 4). Retrieved August 4, 2011, from http://italian-wine-coach.com Italian wine information. (2011, August 4). Retrieved August 4, 2011, from http://www.italian-wine-info.com/ Johnson, H. (2008). The World Atlas of Wine. Hachette UK: Hachette Book Group. Robinson, J. (1999). The Oxford Companion to Wine. Oxford: Oxford University Press.