Italian Wine Classification
The first attempts to make laws to legally promote the production of quality wines in Italy and to safeguard the viticultural areas were conducted at the beginning of the 1900's. The first real quality system that set rules to guarantee the quality of wines and their place of origin was introduced in 1963 when Italy had to introduce some EEC (European Economic Community) laws about wine's quality production and appellation of origin. The law (no:930), dated 12 February 1963, introduced an appellation of controlled origin system and set a difference between �table wines� and quality wines. With this law Italy also introduced and recognized the EEC acronym VQPRD (Vino di Qualit� Prodotto in Regione Determinata, Quality Wine Produced in a Specific Region or QWPSR).
It has four classes of wine, with two falling under the EU category Quality Wine Produced in a Specific Region () and two falling under the category of 'table wine'.
VDT (Vino da tavola, table wine.)
IGT (Vino da tavola con Indicazione Geografica Tipica, typical place name).
DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata, roughly translated: protected place name)
DOCG(Denominatzione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, roughly, guaranteed place name)
VDT denotes wine from Italy. (NOTE: this is not always synonymous with other countries' legal definitions of 'table wine'.) The appellation indicates a wine that does not stick rigidly to current winemaking laws. However, due to tough competition, many quality wines do carry this appellation.
IGT designation is applied to about 120 areas in Italy. This label denotes wine from a more specific region within Italy and was created for the "new" wines of Italy, those that had broken the strict, old wine laws but were wines of great quality. Before the IGT was created, famous wines such as "Sassicaia" were labelled "Vino da Tavola".
DOC designation is given to 311 Italian wine growing areas as of February 2006. This designation governs such things as area of production, permissible grape varietals, maximum yield of grapes per acre, minimum alcohol content, aging requirement, and such vineyard practices as pruning and trellising. In addition, to be eligible for a DOC designation, wines must pass a taste test and a chemical analysis. DOCG has a stricter set of guidelines than DOC.
DOCG designation is given to 32 areas as of February 2006 and is the highest level of quality labelling in Italy. The main difference between a DOC and a DOCG is that the latter must pass a blind taste test for quality in addition to conforming to the strict legal requirements to be designated as a wine from the area in question. Examples of DOGCs are Chianti Classico, Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino, and Barbareso.
Grape varietals are also found on Italian wine labels. Italy's unique climate suits grapes that are not often produced in other areas. Grapes such as Chianti's Sangiovese, Barolo's Nebbiolo, Corvina, and Arneis are most commonly found in Italy.
Italian Wine Term Glossary |
| Abboccato | Slightly sweet |
| Amabile | gently sweet |
| Amaro | Bitter, very dry |
| Annata | Vintage year |
| Asciutto | Bone dry |
| Barrique | Small 225l oak barrel |
| Botte | Very large oak vat |
| Cantina Sociale | Growers' cooperative |
| Casa Vinicola | Wine firm |
| Cerasuolo | Cherry pink |
| Chiaretto | Pale red, almost pink |
| Classico | Heart of a DOC area |
| Consorzio | Growers' association |
| Cru | Vineyard site |
| DOC | Denominazione di Origine Controllata |
| DOCG | Denominazione di Origine Controllata Garantita |
| Dolce | Very sweet |
| Frizzante | Lightly sparkling |
| Imbottigliato | Bottled |
| Liquoroso | Sweet, usually fortified |
| Localit� | Single vineyard site |
| Passito | Wine from dried grapes |
| Riserva | Specially selected wines |
| Rosato | Pink, rose |
| Rosso | Red |
| Secco | Dry |
| Spumante | Fully sparkling |
| Superiore | Higher standard |
| Uvaggio | Wine from mix of grapes |
| Vecchio | Old |
| Vigna, Vigneto | Single vineyard site |
| Vino da Tavola | Table wine category |