Abboccato Semi-dry. Less sweet than amabile.
Amabile Semi-sweet, usually in reference to sparkling wine.
Amaro Bitter.
Annata A wine's vintage year.
Asciutto Totally dry.
Azienda agricola, agraria or vitivinicola A farm or estate which produces all or most of the grapes for wine sold under its labels.
Bianco White (wine).
Botte Cask or barrel.
Botticella Small cask.
Bottiglia Bottle.
Brut Dry, usually in reference to sparkling wine.
Cantina Cellars 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.
Castello Castle.
Cerasuolo Cherry-hued ros? (wine).
Chiaretto Deep rose (wine).
Classico The historic core of a DOC wine production zone.
Coltivatore Cultivator.
Consorzio Consortium of producers.
DOC Abbreviation for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or "controlled place name," indicating details about where a wine comes from, the grapes used in it and how it was produced.
DOCG Abbreviation for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, or "controlled and guaranteed place name," indicating the details for wine production as listed for DOC but with stricteer qualifications.
Dolce Sweet. Enologo Enologist with a university degree; enotecnico is a wine making technician with a diploma.
Enoteca Literally, a "wine library," referring to both publicly sponsored displays and privately owned shops.
Ettaro Hectare (2.471 acres) the standard measure of vineyard surface in Italy.
Etichetta Label.
Ettolitro Hectoliter, or 100 liters, the standard measure of wine volume in Italy.
Fattoria Farm or estate.
Fermentazione naturale Natural fermentation.
Fiasco Traditional straw-cased bottle typically used by Chianti producers in the 1970s.
Frizzante or frizzantino Fizzy or faintly fizzy (wine).
Frutta Fruit.
Frutti di bosco Literally, fruits of the forest, such as raspberries, blackberries and strawberries.
Gradazione alcoolica (grad. alc.) Alcoholic degree/percentage.
IGT Indicazione Geografica Tipica, or typical place name, designate wines that can come from a large variety of grapes from a broad area. This classification gives producers a large degree of individual expression, unlike the DOC/DOCG.
Imbottigliata Bottled.
Imbottigliato dal produttore all’origin Bottled by the producer at the source.
Imbottigliato dalla cantina sociale Bottled by a cooperative winery. Invecchiato Aged (wine).
Liquoroso Strong wine, sometimes fortified but usually of naturally high alcoholic grade.
Litro Liter.
Maso A holding, often referring to a vineyard or estate.
Masseria Farm or estate.
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.
Nero Black.
Passito Wine style made from partially dried grapes (to concentrate flavors). Technique typically used to make sweet wines.
Pastoso Medium dry.
Podere Small wine estate or farm.
Produttore Producer.
Recioto Wine made from partly dried grapes in the passito style. Often sweet and strong.
Riserva Reserve. Indicates a DOC or DOCG wine aged for a specific time period. Implies a wine is of better than average quality, thereby meriting the additional aging.
Rosato Rose (wine).
Rosso Red (wine).
Scelto Selected. Term used for certain late harvested DOC wines. Auslese in German (sometimes used in Italy's province of Alto Adige).
Secco Dry (wine).
Semi-secco Medium sweet, usually in sparkling wine.
Spumante Sparkling, for dry or sweet wines.
Stabilimento Firm.
Superiore Denotes DOC wine that meets standards above the normal requirements (higher alcohol, longer aging, a special subzone), though conditions vary.
Tenimento Farm.
Tenuta Farm or estate.
Uva Grape.
Uva passa is a dried grape to be used for wine.
Uvetta, uva secca or sultanina are terms for raisin.
Vecchio Old, to describe aged DOC wines; stravecchio, very old.
Vendemmia Harvest or vintage.
Vendemmia tardiva, late harvest, defines wines from grapes left beyond the usual harvest date to ripen more fully on the vine.
Vigna or vigneto Vineyard.
Vigna may be used under DOC and DOCG for approved single vineyard wines.
Vignaiolo or viticoltore Terms for grape grower.
Villa Manor.
Vinificazione Vinification.
Vino Wine.
Vino da arrosto, a robust aged red suited to roast meats.
Vino da tavola Table wine, applies loosely to most non-DOCs not classified as IGT.
Vino novello New wine, usually red, that must be bottled and sold within the year of harvest.
Vino novello Wine of the most recent vintage made in an easy-drinking and fruity style for early consumption, akin to the French “nouveau.”
Vin santo Wine made from grapes dried on straw mats over the winter to concentrate flavors.
Vite Vine.
Viticoltura Vine cultivation, viticuture.
Vitigno Vine or grape variety.
Vivace Lively, for lightly bubbly wines.