Glossary The following Italian terms may be found on labels or literature about wine. Abboccato – Lightly sweet. Alcool – Alcohol, usually stated by % of volume. Amabile – Semisweet. Annata – Vintage year. Azienda agricola or agraria or vitivinicola – Farm or estate which produces all or most of the grapes for wine sold under its labels. Bianco – White. Botte – Cask or barrel. Bottiglia – Bottle. Brut – Dry (sparkling wine). Cantina – Cellar 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. Cerasuolo – Cherry-hued rosé. Chiaretto – Deep rosé. Classico – The historic core of a DOC zone. Consorzio – Consortium of producers. Dolce – Sweet. Enoteca – Literally wine library, referring to both publicly sponsored displays and privately owned shops. Enologo – Enologist with a university degree; enotecnico is a winemaking technician with a diploma. Ettaro – Hectare (2.471 acres) the standard measure of vineyard surface in Italy. Ettolitro – Hectoliter, or 100 liters, the standard measure of wine volume in Italy. Etichetta – Label. Fattoria – Farm or estate. Frizzante or Frizzantino – Fizzy or faintly fizzy. Imbottigliata – Bottled (all'origine implies at the source). lnvecchiato – Aged. Liquoroso – Strong wine, sometimes fortified but usually of naturally high alcoholic grade. Maso – A holding, often referring to a vineyard or estate. Masseria – Farm or estate. Metodo Charmat – Sparkling wine made by the sealed tank method. 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. Passito or Passita – Partially dried grapes and the strong, usually sweet wines made from them. Podere – Small farm or estate. Produttore – Producer. Recioto – Wine made from partly dried grapes, often sweet and strong. Riserva – Reserve, for DOC or DOCG wine aged a specific time. Rosato – Rosé. Rosso – Red. Scelto – Selected, term used for certain DOC wines. Auslese in German (Alto Adige). Secco – Dry. Semisecco – Medium sweet, usually in sparkling wine. Spumante – Sparkling in dry or sweet wines. Superiore – Denotes DOC wine that meets standards above the norm (higher alcohol, longer aging, a special subzone), though conditions vary. Tenuta – Farm or estate. Uva – Grape. Vecchio – Old, to describe aged DOC wines; Stravecchio, very old, applies to the longest aged Marsala and to some spirits. Vendemmia – Harvest or vintage. Vendemmia tardiva or late harvest defines wines from grapes left to ripen fully on the vine. Vigna or vigneto – Vineyard. Vigna may be used under DOC/DOCG for approved single vineyard wines. Vignaiolo/Viticoltore – Terms for grape grower. Vino da tavola – Table wine, applies loosely to most non-DOCs. Vino novello – New wine, usually red, that must be bottled and sold within the year of harvest. Vitigno – Vine or grape variety. Vivace – Lively, as in lightly bubbly wines.