PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE UPDATED GLOSSARY (April 2018).
Above: Alberto Bertuzzi’s 1942 “Wine in our Lives,” a fascist-era “how to” book on wine’s application in a healthy lifestyle.
With every trip to Italy and the many posts, fact sheets, and technical descriptions I translate for my clients, I always come across Italian wine terms to add to my growing Italian wine term glossary (below).
This week’s update includes allegagione, spollonatura, and scacchiatura, among others.
If you have terms that you’d like to suggest, please leave a comment below. I’ll be happy to add them.
Thanks for speaking Italian wine!
| ITALIAN | ENGLISH |
| a giropoggio | east-west row orientation |
| a ritocchino | north-south row orientation |
| acciaio [inossidabile] | stainless-steel [vat/tank] |
| affinamento | aging |
| alberello | head-trained [vines] |
| allegagione | fruit set |
| allevamento | training |
| argilla | clay |
| arresto di fermentazione | stuck fermentation |
| assemblaggio | blend |
| azoto | nitrogen |
| barbatella | grafted cutting |
| barrique | barrique [small French oak cask] |
| bâtonnage | stirring on the lees |
| biodinamica | biodynamics/biodynamic |
| biologico | organic |
| botte | traditional large cask |
| bucce | skins |
| Cabernet [Sauvignon] | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Cabernet Franc | Cabernet Franc |
| calcare/calcareo | limestone/calcareous [limestone-rich] |
| cappello sommerso | submerged cap maceration |
| chioma | canopy |
| cordone speronato | cordon-trained spur-pruned [vines] |
| cru | vineyard designation/single vineyard |
| cuvée | blend |
| délestage | rack and return |
| deraspare/deraspatrice | de-stemm/de-stemmer |
| diradamento | pruning/thinning grapes/dropping fruit |
| DOC | DOC [designation of controlled origin] |
| DOCG | DOCG [designation of controlled and guaranteed origin] |
| DOP | PDO [Protected Designation of Origin] |
| doppio capovolto | double-arched cane [training] |
| esca | esca [alt.: black dead arm or black measles] |
| escursione termica | [diurnal] temperature variation |
| fementazione arrestata | stuck fermentation |
| femminella | lateral shoot |
| follatura | punching down |
| galestro | galestro [a marl- and limestone-rich subsoil unique to Tuscany] |
| giropoggio | east-west row orientation |
| grappa | grappa |
| grappolo | cluster/bunch |
| Guyot | Guyot |
| IGP | PGI [Protected Geographical Indication] |
| IGT | IGT [typical geographical indication] |
| leccio | holm oak |
| lievito naturale | native/ambient/indigenous/wild yeast |
| lievito selezionato | cultured yeast |
| limo | silt |
| macchia mediterranea | Mediterranean maquis [shrubland] |
| maestrale (vento di maestrale) | north-westerly wind |
| malolattica | malolactic fermentation |
| marna/marne | marl |
| millerandage | millerandage [alt.: shot berries, hens and chicks, or pumpkins and peas] |
| monovitigno | single-grape variety [wine] |
| mosto | must |
| oidio | oidium [powdery mildew] |
| peronospora | peronospora [downy mildew] |
| pied de cuve | pied de cuve [native yeast starter] |
| pigiatura | pressing |
| portinnesto | rootstock |
| quercia | oak |
| rimontaggio | pumping over |
| ritocchino | north-south row orientation |
| sabbia/sabbioso | sand/sandy [sandy soil] |
| Sauvignon [Blanc] | Sauvignon Blanc |
| scacchiatura | disbudding |
| siccità/stress idrico | hydric stress |
| sistema di allevamento | training |
| sottosuolo | subsoil |
| sovescio | cover crop/green manure |
| spollonatura | disbudding |
| stralciatura | deshooting |
| stress idrico/siccità | hydric stress |
| sulle bucce | skin contact [macerated on the skins] |
| sulle fecce nobili | lees aged [aged on its lees] |
| sur lie | lees aged [aged on its lees] |
| terreno/terreni | soil |
| tignola della vite | vine moth [Eupoecilia ambiguella] |
| tralcio | shoot/cane |
| tramoggia | hopper/feeder |
| tufo | tufaceous subsoil [porous limestone] |
| vasca | vat/tank |
| vento di maestrale | north-westerly wind |
| vigna/vigne | vine/vineyards |
| vigneto | vineyard |
| vinaccia/vinacce | pomace |
| vite | vine |
| vitigno | grape variety |
Do Bianchi 
Great glossary!
Whats the difference between Rovere and quercia? Like Beef and cow?
Haha well, Quercia (Quercus) consists of a certain group of plants that are under the big family of Fagaceae. Rovere is a specific specie of Quercia (Quercus petraea)
Cool. Thank you.
b.
a giropoggio this actually means planting along contour lines
a ritocchino this instead means planting downhill, following the maximum slope.
Wayne, I’ll do a post! Thanks for the suggestion!
bfalkjr, so glad people find this useful. :)
Roberto, you are 100 percent correct. But north-south and east-west are the ways these terms are translated into English. The actual location-orientation of the vineyard isn’t relevant here. It’s just a convention that borrows from the compass.