Before we even dive in to other Italian wine terms, the most important things to know are the Italian words for wine and cheers. The Italian word for wine is vino and plural is vini. There are three ways to say cheers in Italian: Cin Cin!, Salute!, and Alla Vostra! Get that? Lo capisci? I’m having entirely too much fun pretending I know Italian! Onward!
Reference this list of common Italian wine terms that you’ll find on wine labels or see on wine lists to give you a better understanding of the wine that’s inside. Enjoy! Goda!
Italian Wine Terms A-M
Annata:
Commonly known as the vintage or the year that the grapes were grown. Some vintages might be more important than others due to that year’s weather and growing conditions.
Bianco:
White grapes or wines. Trebbiano, Fiano, and Moscato Bianco are just a few of the popular white grapes in Italy that produce some of the country’s noteworthy wines.
Classico:
A wine that was produced in this historic winegrowing area. For example, Chianti Classico DOCG comes from the original area, while Chianti DOCG and its sub-zones surround the Chianti Classico area.
Dolce:
A sweet wine that could be found in most regions made from the native grapes. For example, Toscana boasts its Vin Santo made from a blend of Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia grapes, while the Malvasia delle Lipari of the Aeolian Islands has been compared to honey in a wine bottle.
Frizzante:
A semi-sparkling wine that would be considered to not be as “bubbly” as spumante wines. The most popular frizzante wines would be Prosecco or Moscato d’Asti.
Liquoroso:
A term that usually refers to fortified wines with higher alcohol content. The most notable in Italy would be Sicilia’s Marsala.
Metodo classico:
The classic method that produces Champagne in France with a second fermentation of wine in the bottle. However, in Italy, this would refer to similar production but Franciacorta from Lombardia or Trentino DOC from Trentino.
Italian Wine Terms N-Z
Riserva:
Stricter production and ageing requirements. For example, the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG will be aged for four years while its riserva edition will be aged for five years. Many riserva wines could also have grapes that were deemed superior for that year’s harvest.
Rosato:
Commonly known as rosè wines. While Puglia is traditionally known as the main producer of rosato wines, the recent introduction of Prosecco Rosè DOC is exciting news for the Italian wine industry.
Rosso:
Red grapes or wines. Some of the common red grapes include Nebbiolo, Aglianico, and Montepulciano that subsequently produce Barolo DOCG, Aglianico del Vulture DOCG, and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC respectively.
Secco:
Dry wines that could refer to still or sparkling wines. Most of the popular Italian wines are typically dry wines.
Superiore:
Wines that have a higher alcohol content than the non-superiore wines. Also, there would be a restriction of using a smaller quantity of grapes and therefore producing a higher-quality wine. For example, the Soave Superiore DOCG only uses garganega grapes from a particular hillside north of the flat valley.
Uva:
The singular Italian term for grape and usually connected to its article (l’uva). In its plural form it will be referred to as l’uve. It’s also one of the many terms in Italian that was borrowed from Latin.
Vendemmia Tardiva:
A term referring to late-harvested wines. Wines that are made from these grapes will usually be sweeter with a higher alcohol content.
Zuccheri:
A term referring to the sugar levels. If reading a wine label in Italian, it is possible to see this term in reference to the residual sugars during the vinification process.
A little help from my friends
I enlisted the help of my friend Julie Farricker with this month’s posts about Italian wine. She was gracious enough to provide Unraveling Wine with a plethora of information about Italian wine history, Italian wine terms, the regions, the grapes and the styles. I’ll be releasing a new post about Italian wine every week. A huge thank you to her!
Julie, while not dreaming about Italy and her next adventure, is a high school English and social studies teacher. She regularly visits all 20 Italian wine regions and strives to share the best Italian wines with her clients at The Italian Cellar.